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August 31, 2006
"Drinking tea is better for you than drinking water."
A study in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds that drinking three to four cups of tea per day can reduce one’s chances of having a heart attack, and possibly help protect against some cancers. The study’s author, Carrie Ruxton of Kings College London, challenges the common perception of tea as dehydrating, insisting that tea rehydrates just as well as water does:
Drinking tea is actually better for you than drinking water. Water is essentially replacing fluid. Tea replaces fluids and contains antioxidants so it's got two things going for it.There is, however, research suggesting that tea can impair the body's ability to absorb iron from food--people at risk of anemia should avoid drinking tea around mealtimes.
Dr. Ruxton stressed that the study—despite its sponsorship by The Tea Council—was carried out independently. [Source]
This study comes on the heels of two reports about the benefits (or risks, as they may be) of coffee consumption. Check out truthdig for more on that mixed message.
In the news
E-85 Mileage Loophole for Carmakers: Car companies promoting E-85 as an alternative to gasoline are getting credit from the government for nearly double the gas mileage their vehicles actually achieve, allowing manufacturers to sell more full-size SUVs and pickups while still meeting federal standards for average fuel economy.
Australian scientists are using bacteria to turn toxic waste dumps into prime real estate. Researchers are targeting cancer-causing chemicals produced by industry decades ago that have been lurking in groundwater under the nation's cities for up to 50 years.
Environment Illinois finds unsafe levels of mercury in tuna served at Chicago's top sushi restaurants.
Proponents of biotechnology are disturbed by what appears to be a series of recent incidents showing lax supervision of experimental plantings by the government and agribusinesses.
Organic wine, once viewed as one of the most marginal outposts of the organic movement, is getting the nod from consumers in the UK.
Briefly Noted: Nicotine levels rose 10 percent in last six years...Maryland sewage plant upgrades to cut nitrogen runoff in bay...EPA official promises wetlands guidelines...Gristmill on ‘toxic schools’...
August 30, 2006
Just say yes to drugs
The Washington Post reported on a report by the National Research Center for Women & Families showing that expert panels assembled by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are often biased towards approving new drugs.
Officials can discuss what's a conflict of interest all day, but I have a simpler idea. How about if, for every panel member who's got any tie to a drug company (or a nonprofit or trade association they fund), we have TWO panelists that work only for public interest groups that have no tie to the drug industry?
... And just for fun, have a look at Mike Adams and Dan Berger's political cartoons about the FDA.
Where's the pudding?
The proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes, and obviously pudding is safe to eat. Just call me or Bill Cosby - we can talk tapioca all day.
Today's Salt Lake Tribune editorial insists that "Makers of dietary supplements should have to prove safety." Sounds obvious, but if it isn't food you eat or a drug you take, don't assume it's been proven safe.
Dietary supplements -- you know, those things near the vitamins that offer benefits like improved memory, better mood, less weight -- and personal care products, which have a whole aisle all their own, don't get safety tested before going on a store shelf. In fact, if the Food and Drug Administration gets reports of injuries or concerns, they have to prove there's been harm before they can protect consumers.
So what's a consumer who wants to look, feel or smell good to do? For now, read up before you take any supplements. Your body is your temple and your responsibility.
As for toothpastes, shampoos and other grooming goodies, about 11 percent of the ingredients used in personal care products have been screened for safety. That's it. So until the government does start making companies test ingredients or products, you can visit EWG's cosmetics database to see products listed individually, or by category or brand.
Of course, you could just see whether pudding works as a moisturizer.
In the news
A Haircut to Help Out: Prisoners in Manilla are shaving their heads and chests to donate hair to help mop up the Petron Corporation’s August 11 oil spill. The Coast Guard plans to put the human hair—combined with chicken feathers, in sacks tied to bamboo poles as barriers along the coastlines of affected villages. The 200,000+ liter spill—the worst in the history of the Philippines, has exposed residents to hazardous levels of hydrogen sulfide, benzene and toluene.
Colorado Workplace Deaths: The number of Coloradans killed on the job rose to 125 last year, eight more than the previous year. Exposure to harmful substances or environment was responsible for 11 of those deaths. According to the Colorado Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries, Thursday was the most likely day for a workplace death in 2005, with 24 total. The most likely time of day was between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m., with 15 deaths.
Victory for Endangered Species: A federal judge in Seattle has struck down a 2004 EPA regulation allowing the agency to approve pesticides without consulting wildlife officials to determine whether the chemicals might harm endangered plants and animals. According to U.S. District Court Judge John C. Coughenour, EPA has "plainly violated" the Endangered Species Act, and the 2004 regulation suffers from a "total absence of any technical and scientific evidence to support or justify" the agency's decision to forgo reviews by wildlife experts.
Expedia to Begin Selling Carbon Offsets: For $5.99, Expedia says consumers can mitigate the environmental damage of approximately 450 kilograms of carbon dioxide. The travel agency is offering the voucher to customers at cost.
August 29, 2006
California's rocket fuel standard four times tougher than feds'
California has proposed an enforceable limit of 6 parts per billion for perchlorate (rocket fuel) in drinking water--four times more stringent than the EPA's waste-site cleanup standard of 24 parts per billion. Currently, Massachusetts is the only state with a mandatory limit--2 ppb for perchlorate in drinking water. Enviro groups in California have been pushing for an even more stringent limit of 1 or 2 parts per billion, but have met resistance from the Pentagon and its contractors. Perchlorate contamination is not limited solely to drinking water. The chemical, which disrupts brain development in fetuses and young children, is widely prevalent in milk, cheese, lettuce and other crops tainted by irrigation water, as well as human breast milk and baby formula. Most perchlorate contamination comes from military bases and aerospace plants. [LA Times] [AP]
August 28, 2006
NY Schools Going Greener to Protect Children
New legislation in New York State requires schools to use greener cleaning products. The new regulations, backed by the state School Boards Association and the largest NY teachers union, aim to protect children from the risks of chronic low-level exposure to toxic chemicals. Both public and private elementary and secondary schools are required to comply by limiting the purchase of new products to those on the official NY state list of green cleaners. Traditional cleaning products are known contributors to indoor air pollution, which can be two to five times higher than out-of-doors. NY-based nonprofit, Grassroots Environmental Education, believes the new guidelines are not stringent enough and should be extended to cover more chemicals that disrupt the endocrine system. [Source]
See? You Do Make a Difference
Every time I fly I notice that just before we land, the attendant acknowledges over the loudspeaker that they know I had many choices when booking my flight, and they are glad I gave them my business. I like that.
Every product we buy is an endorsement, and companies know it. Check out the story in today's Christian Science Monitor, which gives examples of how consumers have demanded more environmentally-sound products -- and got them.
EWG can help you make healthier, more environmentally friendly decisions when shopping: check out http://www.ewg.org/shopping/, and as your Grandma says, Use/Eat/Wear it in good health.
August 25, 2006
The End of Antibiotics?
NPR is running two stories about antibiotics. One about scientists scraping the sea floor in search of new antibiotics that we have yet to develop resistance to. Researchers are finding that drug companies have little interest in financing the testing of their newly discovered anitbiotics, because they are more focused on drugs that people require daily for the rest of their lives, or performance-enhancing drugs. The other piece—a nice complement—is about embracing your body's natural defenses:
...next time you’re tempted to beg for a prescription for antibiotics, remember this: [...] Some useful bacteria will be killed along with the bad, leaving vacant patches that invite colonization by any passing germ.[...] If your doctor tells you that antibiotics won't help, don't beg. Stay home and try to keep your germs to yourself.
Pesticides in Farmworkers' Children
Environmental Science and Technology reports on a study finding high levels of pesticides in the children of immigrant farmworkers. Of the farmworkers studied, researchers found that "40% of the mothers and 30% of the fathers had not received training in pesticide handling, a violation of U.S. EPA regulations." It was apparent that many participants had misconceptions about the toxicity of the chemicals they handle. The scientists, from Wake Forest University School of Medicine, are pushing for better education for farmworkers to protect their children from pesticide exposure.
August 24, 2006
Marketing Bottled Water: The Joke is on Us
Quoted in an article for the Japan Times, Tony Clarke of the Polaris Institute articulates the cyclical risk of our obsession with bottled water:
The bottled-water industry's marketing of 'safe, clean water' undermines citizen's confidence in public water systems, and paves the way for the water companies to take over underfunded local utilities. In return, public willingness to pay premium prices for bottled water enables water-service corporations to establish a top-dollar price.
The article also touches on the perception of bottled water as being "safer" than tap water:
"Several peer-reviewed scientific studies have found disturbing concentrations of toxic ingredients such as arsenic and mercury in their bottled-water samplings," warns Clarke, who adds that "bottling plants face inspections only once every three-to-six years depending on the country, and regulations governing tap water are often stricter than those governing bottled water.And of course, the environmental effects of plastic bottle manufacture and disposal:
"These containers release highly dangerous toxic chemicals and contaminants into the air and water when they are manufactured, and again when they are burned or buried. Yet these same plastic packages are becoming the fastest-growing form of municipal solid waste in the U.S. and Canada," Clarke notes.
"The bottle-versus-the-tap debate" (Enviroblog 7.17.06)
August 23, 2006
This Summer Bites for Massachusetts Residents
Officials in Massachusetts have begun aerial fumigation of the Southestern part of the state with the pesticide Anvil. The enemy: mosquitos capable of carrying Eastern equine encephalitis, of which two cases have been reported in Massachusetts this year. [Boston Globe]
In Boston, many residents are dealing with rising bedbug (Cimex lectularius) infestations. [Boston Globe]
Toxic roulette and the revenge of the fish
Paul Watson's poignant reflections on the over-exploitation of our seas and the toxicity of today's catch. [New Zealand Herald]
August 22, 2006
Madonna's Plan for Neutralizing Dangerous Radioactive Waste
The London Sunday Times reports that Madonna has been "lobbying the government and nuclear industry over a scheme to clean up radioactive waste with a supposedly magic Kabbalah fluid." Both she and her husband, Guy Ritchie are promoting a water-based “mystical” liquid solution that has allegedly proved successful in neutralising dangerous nuclear waste in Ukraine. One official--presumably at British Nuclear Fuels-- had this to say about Madonna's proposal: “It was like a crank call . . . the scientific mechanisms and principles were just bollocks, basically.”
Here's a great snippet from the article:
“I mean, one of the biggest problems that exists right now in the world is nuclear waste,” [Madonna] said. “That’s something I’ve been involved with for a while with a group of scientists — finding a way to neutralise radiation, believe it or not.”The Kabbalah Centre, which is based in Los Angeles but has branches worldwide, was set up by Philip Berg, a former insurance salesman. One devotee has described how Berg leads chants of “Chernobyl” and the names of other nuclear power plants. Followers believe this helps “heal the problem of nuclear waste”.
Undercover reporters who attended a Kabbalah Centre dinner in London described how Madonna and Ritchie were among guests who turned east towards Chernobyl and began shouting its name.
Some Kabbalah followers are even said to believe that nuclear waste is the cause of the Aids epidemic.
Madonna has said: “According to science we aren’t going to have a planet in about 50 years at the rate we’re going with nuclear waste. I can write the greatest songs and make the most fabulous films and be a fashion icon and conquer the world, but if there isn’t a world to conquer, what’s the point?
August 21, 2006
Happy 100th, EWG MySpace!
Exactly one month from first joining MySpace.com, EWG has reached the milestone of making 100 “friends.” We’ve been amazed to see how many individuals and other organizations have found us on MySpace given we never made any formal announcement that we had joined. Click here and become EWG’s 101st friend!
"EnviroGroups on MySpace?" (7/20/06)
Air Fresheners Not Smelling So Fresh
New Research from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences suggests that the "fresh" smell of many air fresheners is a result of the ingredient1,4 dichlorobenzene (1,4 DCB) which has been found to impair lung function. 1,4 DCB is also found in toilet bowl cleaners, mothballs and various other "deodorizing" products. "The best way to protect yourself, especially children who may have asthma or other respiratory illnesses, is to reduce the use of products and materials that contain these compounds." [via Effect Measure]
EPA is Behind Schedule in Curbing Childhood Lead Poisoning
[snip]
The Clinton administration in 2000 set a goal to eliminate childhood lead poisoning by 2010. To achieve that, in the next two years the EPA would have to reduce the estimated cases to 90,000 from about 400,000 cases in 1999-2000. [Kansas City Star]
August 18, 2006
Has Coke Become the New McDonald's?
Coca-Cola is hit by a hunger strike and college boycotts prostesting environmental and human rights abuses.
Coca-Cola says it is a target only because it is the market leader. Funny--that reminds me of the McDonald's sign Seth Godin posted to his blog Wednesday:
BIG COMAPANIES ARE EASY TARGETS SO THEY NEED HIGHER STANDARDS.
**Title of this stolen post verbatim from The Guradian.
August 17, 2006
links for 8.17.06
Wow! It's been super busy around here trying to keep up with all the traffic and inquiries related to Ronald McHummer, but I wanted to make sure I posted links to a few good news items.
U.S. Evangelicals Speak Out on Climate Change [Voice of America]
For asthmatics, traffic takes their breath away. [OC Register]
Chinese market for organic vegetables is growing rapidly. [People's Daily]
Editorial: If fumes from nonstick pans kill birds, what are they doing to us? [SF Chronicle]
August 15, 2006
Special Sauce, Lettuce, Cheese, and Foreign Oil Dependency
This month McDonald's is giving away toy Hummers — 42 million of them, in eight models and colors — with every Happy Meal or Mighty Kids Meal. That's right: The fast-food chain that helped make our kids the fattest on Earth is now selling future car buyers on the fun of driving a supersized, smog-spewing, gas-guzzling SUV originally built for the military. In response, EWG has teamed up with Hybridcars.com to create the Ronald McHummer Sign-O-Matic™ so you can tell us what you think of this misguided marriage of two icons of American excess.
Baltimore Bans Toxic Jewelry Because Feds Won't
A survey this month by Baltimore City Health Commisioner, Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, found that 4 out of 17 samples of children's jewelry sold at area stores had dangerously high levels of lead. At a news conference yesterday, Sharfstein had this to say:
"The fact that we keep finding lead in these products, despite the fact that it's unsafe, is a clear sign that the federal regulation has failed."Baltimore's new regulation will ban the sale of any jewelry found to exceed the federal limit of 600 parts per million of lead. [Baltimore Sun]
FDA URGES PRODUCERS TO STOP MAKING LEAD-TAINTED VINYL LUNCHBOXES
August 14, 2006
Hummer Pushing its "Light Cigarette"
Hummer will be launching a new ad campaign today to remind consumers that they sell TWO models – the H2 and the smaller, cheaper H3. Hummer feels they've been too long associated with the behemoth H2, so the new commercials, touting the smaller H3 and featuring some Belgian magician, will shock you with their impressive claims of 20 miles per gallon and only a $30,000 price tag. Yes--once you see the ad in which an H3 drives right past a gas station, you will be effectively reeducated about the the H3's size, fuel efficiency and maneuverability, and thus have no choice but to run out to the nearest dealership, float a loan, and join the ranks of the insecure losers from Hummer's last baseless ad campaign.
UPDATE (Aug 15): EWG has just launched a new Sign-O-Matic tool to parody the McDonald's/Hummer partnership. Make your own hilarious golden arches signs and send them to your friends.
August 11, 2006
GAO: We're Flying Blind
On August 2, an official from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) told the Senate's Environment and Public Works Committee that our nation's law governing industrial chemicals needs to be dramatically changed.
John B. Stephenson of GAO said, "In summary, EPA [Environmental Protection Agency] does not routinely assess the human health and environmental risks of existing chemicals and faces challenges in obtaining the information necessary to do so. [The law's] authorities for collecting data on existing chemicals do not facilitate EPA's review process because they generally place the costly and time-consuming burden of obtaining data on EPA, rather than requiring chemical companies to develop and submit such data to EPA. Consequently, EPA has used its authorities to require testing for fewer than 200 of the 62,000 chemicals in commerce when EPA began reviewing chemicals under [the law] in 1979."
In other words, for most of the industrial chemicals in consumer products on store shelves today, we don't know what's going on.
The law in question, the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), assumes chemicals are innocent until proven guilty. Companies provide very little data up front when they want to put a chemical into use, and then it's up to consumers or the government to prove harm before the government can even ask for data (let alone limit use or ban a substance).
Stephenson said, "Since the Congress enacted TSCA in 1976, EPA has issued regulations under the act to ban or limit the production or restrict the use of only five existing chemicals or chemical classes."
Check out this chart, which shows that more often than not in the U.S., we study chemicals after we suspect harm, not before: http://www.ewg.org/reports/bodyburden1/factsheets/welltested.php .
The point: we need to test chemicals before they go on store shelves, not after. Congress should read the GAO's report carefully and pass the Kid Safe Chemicals Act, which would have companies prove their products are safe enough for children.
August 10, 2006
What General Motors has Learned from Big Tobacco
This summer, kids will be getting toy Hummers with their Happy Meals thanks to a new McDonald's promotion to bring “the fun and excitement of Hummer vehicles” to “McDonald’s youngest guests.” In a time of record gas prices, when even our oil-friendly leader has admitted that America is "addicted to oil," it seems a bit irresponsible for McDonald's to be advertising the Hummer to its youngest and most impressionable customers. Viewed in the context of an "addiction," its reminiscent of how Big Tobacco has cultivated its future generation of smokers with images of Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man. Needless to say, this Happy Meal addition is a poor choice for a company trying to green its image.
Update (Aug 15): EWG has just launched a new site, the Ronald McDonald Sign-o-Matic. Make your own Mickey D’s sign and tell Ronald what you think of the new Happy Meals.
August 7, 2006
"Ok, Ok--So I Hid My Industry Ties,
But Everybody's Doin' It!"
 |
Recently there's been plenty of debate within scientific, regulatory, and public health circles about the role of industry funding in scientific research and on government advisory panels--with robust arguments from each side. But almost everyone--including the FDA, the American Chemistry Council, and the Society of Toxicology agree on one point: full disclosure of professional associations and financial interests is the bare minimum necessary to safeguard the public interest. Well, according to The Scientist magazine, there's one "expert" out there who won't be swayed by prevailing morality. That man is Dennis Paustenbach, CEO of the risk assessment firm ChemRisk, and repeat-participant on EPA and NAS advisory panels. On his secretive role ghostwriting a landmark study which sidelined efforts to raise cromium-6 drinking water standards The Scientist reports:
Paustenbach, however, told The Scientist that ChemRisk scientists are not the only contributors who have been less than forthcoming. "If the Journal [of Occupational and Environmental Medicine] was using those [full-disclosure] rules over the last 10 years, I think they'd find dozens of papers to have inadequacies in disclosure."
Dr. Paustenbach must've had his fingers crossed when he pledged to uphold these tenets in the Society of Toxicology Code of Ethics:
Conduct their work with objectivity and themselves with integrity. Being honest and truthful in reporting and communicating their research.Abstain from professional judgments influenced by undisclosed conflict of interest, disclose any material conflicts of interest and avoid situations that imply a conflict of interest.
Practice high standards of environmental and occupational health and safety for the benefit of themselves, their co-workers, their families, their communities, and society as a whole.
Past news coverage of ChemRisk misconduct.
August 3, 2006
Uber-conservative Lashes Out Against Farm Subsidies
In an L.A. Times editorial, conservative-supreme Jonah Goldberg states his case against farm subsidies. Why? He says subsidies foster dependence in the developing world:
[...]Our farm subsidies alone — forget trade barriers — cost developing countries $24 billion every year, according to the National Center for Policy Analysis. Letting poor nations prosper would be worth a lot more than the equivalent amount in foreign aid. But Big Agriculture likes foreign aid because it allows for the dumping of wheat and other crops on the world market, which perpetuates the cycle of dependency.
And, he says, subsidies contribute to unnecessary pollution here at home:
[...]There's a 6,000-square-mile dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, larger than Connecticut. It's so depleted of oxygen because of algae blooms caused by fertilizer runoff that shrimp and crabs at the Louisiana shore literally try to leap from the water to breathe. This is endangering the profitable Gulf fishing industry. Most of the fertilizer comes from a few Midwestern counties that receive billions in subsidies (more than $30 billion from 1997 to 2002, according to the Environmental Working Group).
In fact, each year, an average of $270 million worth of wasted fertilizer flows down the Mississippi River into the Gulf of Mexico.
Some additional jaw-droppers from the EWG analysis include:
- Farmlands in 15 percent of the Mississippi River Basin send 80 percent of the critical spring surge of fertilizer pollution into the Gulf.
- Farms in 124 counties that make up 5 percent of the Basin send 40 percent of the spring fertilizer pollution load to the Gulf.
- In those top polluting 124 counties, taxpayers spent 500 times more money on crop subsidies than on conservation programs.
- In the top fertilizer-polluting states of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana, 11,000 farmers were denied conservation payments in 2004 because the programs had no money.
August 2, 2006
The Dirty Secret of Cleaner Cars
On Sunday, the New York Times ran a piece on PZEV’s, or Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles. PZEV’s are poorly marketed versions of the most popular cars on the road. The difference? They have better pollution-control systems than their identical counterparts—so much better that PZEV’s are 70 percent cleaner than vehicles that already meet “low emissions” standards. Sounds a little strange? Well, I’ll say it again—Ford, Honda, Volvo, Chevrolet, Subaru, Mazda, Volkswagon, Nissan, and Toyota currently produce a small number of each of their best-selling models to be as clean as many hybrids and to give off fewer pollutants while driving than their identical counterparts do while parked.
Automakers have yet to put PZEV technology into their entire fleets because they are only mandated to substitute these secretly cleaner models for a small fraction of their vehicles in California and ten other states. The cleaner technology of a PZEV costs an automaker only $200 to $500 extra to produce. At such a small marginal increase, why don’t manufacturers advertise these vehicles with the same vehemence that they push their mountain-topping SUV’s? According to Honda, because they don’t want demand for cleaner vehicles to “bleed over” into states where emissions aren’t so strictly regulated.
And in case your still standing, try to absorb this--PZEV’s carry a 15 year / 150,000 mile warranty.
Other Useful Links:
DRIVE.CLEAN.CA.GOV
Environmental Working Group report on link between asthma and auto emissions.
August 1, 2006
Greenpeace Ad
The City Gas Guzzler, which we linked to last week, is drawing lots of comments on the Autoblog.
FDA's 100th Birthday
Check out this FDA Centennial Anthem, written in honor of the big milestone:
One century past, a people’s hope fulfilled
By an act conceived for safe medicine and food
Protecting rights that our founding fathers willed
To life and liberty, to happiness pursued.[...]
Now in this proud hour, a vibrant vision thrives
True to our mission, whate’er the challenge be
With science our guide, we rededicate our lives
To help create a future healthy, safe, and free.
Hmm...so that's what they've been doing--writing songs.