toxics

EPA knuckleheads hide info on pesticide implicated in colony collapse disorder

So there’s this insecticide called clothianidin that seems likely to be implicated in colony collapse disorder. By the EPA’s own reckoning [PDF], clothianidin “has the potential for toxic chronic exposure to honeybees, as well as other nontarget pollinators, through the translocation of clothianidin residues in nectar and pollen.” Over in Germany, the introduction of clothianidin […]

Umbra on toxins in your body

Dear Umbra, I saw an infomercial late at night about these foot pads that you wear to sleep and they will “remove toxins from your body.” I didn’t know who else to ask, so you win that lottery. Do we actually have that many toxins in our body? And does wearing silly pads on our […]

In Arkansas, a new GMO/herbicide solution to a problem created by an old one

I’ve written a couple of times about the rise “superweeds” in the Southeast and mid-South. In Arkansas, horseweed and Palmer amaranth now choke fields planted with Monsanto’s Roundup Ready cotton and soy — engineered to withstand heavy doses of Roundup, Monsanto’s broad-spectrum herbicide. Fifteen years ago, horseweed and amaranth weren’t problem weeds. </p Back in […]

Making a stink about green(ish) deodorants

Choosing a deodorant can be the pits. Upon moving to Washington, D.C., about a year ago, I quickly realized two things: Our Nation’s Capitol was built on a swamp and The Hill is called that for a reason. So biking — my chief form of transit in the city — can be quite the damp, […]

Toxin-laden e-waste dumped in West Africa

European Union laws prohibiting the export of hazardous materials aren’t keeping shipments of electronic waste out of West Africa, according to a new Greenpeace report. Traders obtain e-waste in the E.U. and ship it off “under the false label of ‘second-hand goods,'” says the report, adding, “Sending old electronic equipment to developing countries is often […]

French independent nuclear commission reports four malfunctions in four plants in 15 days

Just when you thought it was safe to build 45 new nuclear plants by 2030 as John McCain wants, comes this word from France's Independent Commission on Research and Information on Radiocactivity (CRIIRAD):

"In less than 15 days, the CRIIRAD has been informed of four malfunctions in four nuclear plants, leading to the accidental contamination of 126 workers," CRIIRAD head Corinne Castanier told Reuters in an interview ...

But the conservative francophile said last year,

If France can produce 80 percent of its electricity with nuclear power, why can't we?

McCain seems to forget we are a much, much larger country than France. Heck, we already have more nuclear reactors than they do. To achieve McCain's goal, we'd need 500 to 700+ new nuclear reactors plus five to seven Yucca mountains, at a cost of some $4 trillion. Not to mention the soaring electricity bills Americans would have to suffer through, with electricity from new nukes projected at some $0.15 a kilowatt hour -- some 50 percent higher than current national rates -- not even counting transmission (or reprocessing).

The only thing scarier than the radioactivity hazard of nuclear power is the economic hazard.

When pleasing industry compulsively takes precedence over public interest

It’s gratifying to see EPA chief Stephen Johnson writhing under pressure to resign in disgrace. The agency is being hounded by lawsuits from states while Johnson faces perjury accusations from Congress. My question: what took so long? Documenting the agency’s recent betrayals of the public interest would take a book, not a blog post. Myself, […]

A buzzworthy review of DEET-free bug repellents

Itchin’ to scratch that itch. They say the ants go marching one by one. That may be so. But the flying, nibbling critters — the mosquitoes, the gnats, and the flies — come in swarms. How to keep them at bay? Unfortunately, many of the insect repellents on the shelves today contain the chemical DEET. […]

Declaring an ’emergency,’ EPA allows a restricted pesticide in Florida

If you love starfruit, you may want to consider giving your habit a rest for a while. A friend emailed me this bit from [PDF] from Wednesday’s Federal Register. Declaring an “emergency,” the EPA has established a “time-limited tolerance” for residues of fludioxonil, a pesticide, on starfruit. According to the EPA, Florida starfruit is being […]