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Does Silicone Count?

California will measure chemical levels in people’s bodies under new law The first state to measure how residents absorb chemicals from everyday products will be, of course, Arkansas. Ha ha — you wish, Arkansans. No, it’ll be California. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) signed a “biomonitoring” bill Friday that calls on state health officers to collect […]

A Stroke of Bad Luck

Lead still bad for you, and at lower levels than previously thought Lead exposure levels long considered safe for adults have been linked to higher death rates from stroke and heart attack, says cheery research in the medical journal Circulation. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration suggests that safe blood lead levels for adults are […]

Forgive and Let Live

Debt-for-nature swap will protect rainforests in Guatemala About 20 percent of Guatemala’s debt to the United States will be forgiven in exchange for forest conservation efforts in the Central American nation, officials announced yesterday. It’s the largest debt-for-nature swap carried out under the Tropical Forest Conservation Act of 1998, which allows debt owed to the […]

Myths shot down

If you hang around much with conservatives, you've no doubt heard the charge that environmentalists, inspired by Rachel Carson, led the charge to ban DDT and thereby "mass murdered" millions of Africans the pesticide could have saved.

It's bullshit.

Jeff Dorchen explains why.

(via Tim Lambert, who owns the DDT issue)

Environmental justice groups gathered in Seattle this weekend

Unfortunately, I only got to catch the tail end of the Environmental Justice for All solidarity event up here in Seattle on Saturday. I missed the tour though ... 'cause I got lost. Hey, I'm new here, OK? But as the national tour drew to a close, it was good to see activity up in our corner as well.

The event, hosted by the Community Coalition for Environmental Justice, led folks on a tour of some of the most polluted areas here in the generally-conceived-of-as-green city of Seattle. South Seattle neighborhoods deal with a disproportionate number of environmental woes, including 22 facilities that have been found to release air pollutants, six hazardous waste treatment facilities, and 35 facilities that have reported toxic releases.

Meta

Sorry to be so AWOL from the blog. I'm afraid it's going to stay that way for a few days. I'm working furiously on a few different things.

One of them is a series of interviews on the subject of God & the Environment, focusing for the most part on the recent evangelical environmental movement. All this is in conjunction with a Bill Moyers special on PBS on the same subject.

More -- much more -- on that Wed. Until then, well, keep each other company.

Animal welfare, that is

California governor signs major animal-welfare legislation. If we care this much about dogs, and reflect it in our legal system, it is obvious that moral consistency dictates we extend this consideration to many other animals. I think environmentalists should be among those leading this effort.

Organic Sugar Frosted Mini-Wheats and flat screen TVs

I watched Animal Planet on our new TV last night with my daughter. The infrared sensor on our old TV had pooped out. I'd lost the ability to channel surf, and with it a part of my manhood.

Fed up with my inability to flip, I jumped on my hybrid-electric bike, sped down the bike trail to Fred Meyers, bought the cheapest 20" flat screen they had, loaded it into my bike trailer, and was watching commercials within an hour of having set out. The bike, the electric components on the bike, the TV, and the wind-up flashing diode lights on the bike were all made in China.

Two commercials in particular caught my attention: one for organic Sugar Frosted Mini-Wheats (about time I say) and the other for Dawn dishwashing liquid. Apparently its new and improved grease-fighting formula works great to clean crude oil off of penguins. I don't know if commercials like this are good for the image of environmentalism. The ad execs obviously don't think we're all that bright.

Some States Get All the Luck

California wilderness bill passes Congress, Vermont wilderness bill doesn’t Just before adjourning for election season on Friday, Congress OK’d a bill to designate 273,000 acres in Northern California as wilderness, including a long stretch of stunning coastal land, and President Bush is expected to sign it into law. Conservationists and their congressional allies had been […]

The basics for creating a good cheese platter

David has asked me to come up with some dishes and menus especially appropriate for entertaining. I've got several full-menu columns planned for the fall: a brunch, a casual dinner, and a Thanksgiving dinner (with both turkey and non-turkey options).

As far as ideas for entertaining in general, I highly recommend Entertaining for a Veggie Planet by Didi Emmons. It includes tips on entertaining applicable to any meal or event, not just vegetarian ones. She is a very funny writer, a fantastic cook, and a deeply committed activist. I had the pleasure of doing a little bit of work on the book with Didi, and I can attest that it is fun as well as useful.

For now, let's talk about the kind of gathering that isn't a full-on dinner party but where you want to offer your guests something delicious to eat -- like, say, a board-game party! In such instances, I like to serve fruit and cheese platters. (These platters are good at meetings, too, as there's nothing spilly or sticky and it doesn't require lots of elaborate plates and utensils. I belong to a writers group and at our monthly meetings we serve just enough snacks to be hospitable and welcoming without it becoming the center of attention or detracting from the work at hand. For convenience and taste, fruit and cheese platters are a great choice.)