pollution and waste
-
Lessons from fossil-fueled rats
New research from Cairo shows that rats become more belligerent when exposed to gasoline fumes and tailpipe pollution. If the same thing happens to humans, it might explain why the guy in the Escalade was waving his Smith & Wesson on the freeway in L.A. the other night, but it may also highlight the co-benefits […]
-
Toward a medically defensible energy policy
Pollution from coal is not only unhealthy for the environment — it also hurts the human body and contributes to four of the five leading causes of death in the U.S.: heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic respiratory disease. So concludes a new assessment of coal’s health effects from Physicians for Social Responsibility. Titled “Coal’s […]
-
![]()
![]()
Growing up green: Breathing for two
Babies don’t like air pollution and neither should you!Early in my pregnancy I developed a bloodhound’s sense of smell: even the faintest of odors overwhelmed me. It’s a common phenomenon during the first trimester of pregnancy, yet my new nasal superpower took me by surprise—and forced me into an unwelcome awareness of the pollution that […]
-
![]()
![]()
Lawsuit accuses Virginia power company of poisoning Dominican community with toxic coal ash
Here’s the damage from a coal ash spill in Tennessee.A civil lawsuit filed last week in state court in Delaware charges Arlington, Va.-based AES Corp. — one of the world’s largest power companies — with illegally dumping 160 million pounds of toxic coal ash waste onto beaches in the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic, […]
-
![]()
![]()
Water utilities lack proper filters for weed-killer
This story was written by Danielle Ivory. Results from a federal drinking water monitoring program show that many public water companies are ineffective at removing a widely used weed-killer from their water supplies. As the Huffington Post Investigative Fund reported earlier this week, the Environmental Protection Agency has failed to notify the public about data […]
-
Sen. Landrieu’s plan to export Louisiana’s coastal destruction to Florida
While Louisiana struggles to restore coastal wetlands ravaged in large part by decades of oil and gas drilling, its senior senator is leading the effort to lift the ban on drilling off Florida’s Panhandle. U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) is the lone co-sponsor of legislation sponsored by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) to open up new […]
-
![]()
![]()
Boss Hog’s attempted regulatory coup in North Carolina
For the past two years, the North Carolina Environmental Management Commission has been crafting new rules to require water monitoring at factory hog farms, a significant source of pollution in the state. But last week, even with concerns growing over the environmental impacts of hog farms, the North Carolina Senate unanimously passed a bill that […]
-
![]()
![]()
Can we really make the drive-thru a source of power?
My father believes that the one modern invention above all others to contribute to the downfall of the planet, not to mention our civilization, is the drive-through — or, in the spirit of efficiency on which it’s based, the drive-thru. Your idling could light this sign!Not only does it encourage laziness and obesity by tempting […]
-
![]()
![]()
Help for the hurting Potomac
A plastic 55-gallon barrell is seen amongst piles of driftwood and mud along the Potomac River in Cropley, MD. The main culprits for the river’s deteriorating health are agricultural runoff and suburban sprawl due to a booming local population. This CAP post looks at some useful responses. Global warming is on the national and […]
