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Study finds that prenatal exposure to coal-plant emissions impedes neurodevelopment

A major new study by the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health finds:

Closing coal-fired power plants can have a direct, positive impact on children's cognitive development and health ...

[P]renatal exposure to coal-burning emissions was associated with significantly lower average developmental scores and reduced motor development at age two. In the second unexposed group, these adverse effects were no longer observed; and the frequency of delayed motor developmental was significantly reduced.

The full study [PDF] in the July 14 Environmental Health Perspectives is available online: "Benefits of Reducing Prenatal Exposure to Coal Burning Pollutants to Children's Neurodevelopment in China." The study provides yet more evidence -- if any were needed -- that we need to ban traditional coal plants: "elimination of prenatal exposure to coal-burning emissions resulted in measurable benefits to children's development." This is a sophisticated study, which used molecular markers to directly track exposure to coal plant emissions:

Aviation industry is into greening, to an extent

The aviation industry talked up greenness Wednesday at the world’s biggest air show in Farnborough, England. At a sustainability summit, Giovanni Bisignani of the International Air Transport Association called climate change an “emergency situation” and said airlines are the best suited to address it: “No other industry is as responsible, united, and ambitious.” Indeed, the […]

Romney believes McCain would allow drilling in ANWR

About 59 seconds into this video, former GOP presidential candidate and possible VP pick Mitt Romney argues that John McCain would allow drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: (Via Marc Ambinder)

Wal-Mart, mining companies team up to trace path of jewelry supply chain

Retail giant Wal-Mart is joining with Conservation International as well as mining companies Rio Tinto and Newmont Mining to launch a pilot project that lets customers trace the path of their jewelry from mine to mega-store. Marketed as Wal-Mart’s “Love, Earth” brand jewelry, the items stand out from others in that once they’re purchased, customers […]

Random and wiggy video of the day

Cabins are not ‘earth-friendly’

Green: A marketing scheme used to sell environmentally destructive crap to unthinking dupes.

Here's an eco-fantasy article crafted to sell second homes. Scaling from the French doors in one picture I calculate that this "cabin" is twice the size of my own two-story, two-bath, four-bedroom home in Seattle. Half of this visible wall is window, having half the insulation value of a typical wall:

EPA proposes new regulations for injecting carbon into the ground

The EPA released a proposal for a new rule on Tuesday that lays some of the groundwork needed to get carbon capture and storage technology up and running. If formally adopted, the new rule would create a new class of injection wells under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act’s Underground Injection Control program. […]

MLB, NRDC, and Chevy partner for ‘greenest’ All-Star Game

Tonight's Major League Baseball All-Star Game in New York should be the "greenest" MLB event ever, according to Reuters. In partnership with Chevy and NRDC, MLB incorporated a number of "green" initiatives into tonight's game: Athletes will be transported to and from Yankee Stadium in FlexFuel Chevy Silverados, post-consumer recycled waste content and bio-based materials will be included in paper products, and NRDC green teams will roam the stands of Yankee Stadium encouraging debauched and inebriated baseball fans to recycle.

However, the centerpiece of the green All-Star Game is the giant "green" red carpet upon which the all-star players paraded for 18 blocks down Sixth Avenue. The 95,000-square-foot carpet, created by Bentley Prince Street, Inc. of California, was made completely out of recycled fiber content, and 100 percent of electricity was generated by an on-site solar array or financed through the purchase of Green-e certified renewable energy certificates.

Too bad the FlexFuel Chevy Silverados in which the All-Stars paraded were less green than the carpet upon which they rolled.

Fox will broadcast the final Yankee Stadium All-Star Game starting at 7:00 p.m. ET.

Snippets from the news

• Some E.U. countries close to giving legal rights to apes. • What will be the environmental makeup of the next Supreme Court? • Wal-Mart, Newmont Mining, and Conservation International partner for a more transparent jewelry supply chain. • New Orleans barrier islands endangered. • Governors back extension of wind and solar tax credits. • […]

Gingrich’s ‘grassroots’ drilling campaign is funded by Big Oil, report says

*Several corrections have been made to the original post to fix inaccuracies in the report from Alaska Wilderness League. “Green conservative” Newt Gingrich is scheduled to deliver his “Drill here, drill now, pay less” petition to Congress today. According to his American Solutions website, more than 1.3 million people have signed the petition. But who’s […]