health
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Consumers no longer want to be kept in the dark about food
A new survey came out indicating that (surprise, surprise) only 20% of Americans trust food companies to “to develop and sell food products that are safe and healthy.” While the depth to which food companies’ reputations have sunk is impressive, the phrase from the survey question is both interesting and unfortunate. IBM(!), who performed the […]
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EPA chief Lisa Jackson on mountaintop removal, climate legislation, toxics, and more
In a wide-ranging interview with Grist, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson hit on a number of hot-button topics. Here are highlights in video and text. (For more, read the full Q & A.) On mountaintop-removal mining: [T]he current state of the law and regs doesn’t allow us to just change the law and the regs to […]
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Goodbye to Cancer Valley: In remembrance of my friend John Soley
John SoleyAfter a long struggle with cancer, my friend Mr. John Soley died at his home in Carbon County, Pa. on Saturday, June 20. He was only 62, which is too young to die of natural causes. But then, neither John nor I believe he got sick from natural causes. We believe he and many […]
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Coal is the enemy of West Virginia
I wrote a slightly snotty post about West Virginia recently, in response to Gov. Joe Manchin making coal the state rock. The point was that dependence on coal has produced more misery than benefit for West Virginians — nothing to celebrate. As it happens, at a recent event I had the opportunity to ask Manchin […]
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UPDATED: Never mind! Lead levels in White House soil “ridiculously low” for an urban garden
First Lady Michelle Obama hosts the Bancroft Elementary School for the garden harvest of the White House in Washington on June 16, 2009Offical White House Photographer Samantha Appleton [MORE UPDATES:] Obamafoodorama looked into the issue in depth. Now the story is there’s no story. Here’s an expert commenting on the 93 PPM figure: that number […]
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Ask Umbra on rinse aids
Send your question to Umbra! Q. Dearest Umbra, While pleased as pie to have a new super-efficient dishwasher, I remain curious as to the chemical composition of the required rinse aid. This dishwasher relies on a hot water rinse and its stainless steel tub to somehow dry the dishes — there is no energy-sucking, plastic-melting […]
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NYC sends veggie carts to underserved areas — and they’re a hit
New York City took a baby step recently towards a state role in distributing healthy food. It significantly expanded a program to bring fruit and vegetable “carts” to low-income neighborhoods that lack good food options — so-called “food deserts.” And if the early response as reported by the NYT is any indication, the program looks […]
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Globesity: How climate change and obesity draw from the same roots
Photo illustration by Tom Twigg/GristYou’ve heard all the reasons before: We drive too much. We eat too much meat and processed food. We spend too much time with plugged-in devices—computers, TVs, air conditioners. But what problem are we talking about–climate change, or the worldwide rise in obesity? Both, according to Globesity: A Planet Out of […]
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Do dirty coal plants make us more vulnerable to swine flu?
Scientists have discovered that exposure to a common pollutant may make people more likely to experience severe symptoms from swine flu — and it’s a pollutant emitted in large quantities by coal-burning power plants and other industrial facilities. The culprit is arsenic, a highly poisonous semi-metal which, according to a new study by researchers at […]