toxics

EWG takes a look at how sunscreens stack up

As the summer sun starts to heat up in Seattle, I’ve been wondering what sort of environmentally sound sunscreen options are out there to protect my pale, pale flesh from certain scorching. I considered writing to Umbra under a pseudonym to get an answer, but the Environmental Working Group jumped on the subject before I […]

Tim Lambert …

… dismantles NYT columnist John Tierney’s latest attack on Rachel Carson.

Company presentation offers glimpse of life on the other side

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall at a top-level corporate meeting just to see what really goes on behind closed doors? Consider this nifty PowerPoint presentation your ticket in.

It turns out chlorine companies talk about Oceana in their meetings as much as Oceana talks about them. The Chlorine Institute held a meeting a few months back where one of the companies gave a formal presentation about being "In the 'Crosshairs' of an Environmental NGO."

Their presentation looks an awful lot like our presentations -- outlining all of our tactics to stop seafood contamination, which to them are challenges they need to overcome. It's nice to know that ERCO has realized Oceana's in it for the long haul.

My favorite slide? "Essential survival tactics."

Oy

How did the wingnut critique of Rachel Carson (worse than Hitler!) move from the lunatic far-right fringe to the slightly-less-lunatic conservative mainstream? Tim Lambert does a little digging and find that the answer traces back to … Big Tobacco. Seriously.

Umbra on fighting pests with pests

Dear Umbra, I have a pest problem in my backyard — specifically, some tiny (but apparently hungry) insect is making lace out of my basil leaves. I do not want to use pesticides for many reasons, not the least of which is that I cook with the herbs I grow. I think I have found […]

Are our standards for exposure to toxics all wrong?

An intriguing new study published recently on Environmental Health News challenges the long-held assumption on which all regulatory toxicology testing is based, and poses new questions about what — and how much — of certain toxic substances merit “OK” exposure. Toxicology tests are usually performed by giving subjects (usually rodents) high doses of a substance […]

Umbra on aluminum bottles

Umbra, Are aluminum bottles safer than Nalgene bottles? I’m looking at getting Sigg bottles for my self, wife, and son. Vendor agnostic, are the materials used by aluminum-only vendors safer than those that incorporate Lexan? Chris Webber Seattle, Wash. Dearest Chris, I swear, I pick questions and only then do I notice that yet again […]

Umbra on plastic and kids

Hi Umbra, What about “sippy” cups for little kids, not to mention bottles? They’re all plastic, and we all know that kids are more vulnerable to environmental toxins. What’s a mom to do? Janet Byron Berkeley, Calif. Dearest Janet, A mom is to check the research and purchase only bottles and sippy cups that are […]

But the Franken-mozzies will still bite … and their eyes glow red in the dark!

Genetically-engineered mosquitoes that cannot transmit malaria could help stop the spread of the illness, according to a report in the The Guardian and other publications.