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Organic farmed fish a contradiction in terms
Senior ex-official speaks on FDA's failure to get benzene out of soft drinks
OSHA tries to put the brakes on asbestos precautions
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November 29, 2006
Fluoridated water for infants
still on shelves
In a little-noticed but dramatic turnaround, the nation's leading fluoride advocate, The American Dental Association (ADA), issued an alert on November 9th urging parents to avoid fluoridated water when reconstituting infant formula.
The dentists are concerned that fluoride exposure at this age will permanently damage teeth, not protect them. A growing body of research also links fluoride to weakened bones, reduced thyroid activity, and possibly bone cancer in boys.
The advice, however, has gone largely unheeded. Nursery Water, the nation's leading fluoridated water for babies still markets its product nationwide at Wal-Mart and other major retailers.
In light of the new ADA recommendation, join me in signing this letter to Wal-Mart asking them to stop selling this product.
If you want to write to the other retailers you can cut and paste the text of the letter into their respective comments forms linked below:Safeway I Target I Kmart I Albertson's I CVS I Walgreen's I Brook's/Eckerd's I Kroger
Only telephone numbers are available for Toy "R" Us and Babies "R" Us:
1-800-ToysRUs or 1-888-BabyRUs
Fool me once, shame on you
Time to get tough on fraudulent science says a panel looking into why the fabricated "advancements" of a South Korean stem cell scientist weren't exposed before publication in the prestigious journal Science.
Science Committee Issues Hwang Report, ScieneNOW Daily News (28 Nov 06)
Journal Editors Are Urged To Demand More Evidence, Washington Post
(29 Nov 06)
U.K. Environment Agency names top 100 eco-heroes
The Environment Agency (UK) has published its Top 100 eco-heroes as voted by their peers (“peers” is code for “the staff of The Environment Agency”). Many of the obvious trailblazers have made the cut. Not surprisingly, Rachel Carson takes first place for bringing awareness to the effects of indiscriminate use of pesticides. Less predictable is the number seven slot awarded Prince Charles’ for his “Duchy of Cornwall line of Products” which “has helped to shape the consumer's desire for locally produced, high quality, organic foods.” Sorry Al Gore (#9), you just haven’t done enough for our stomachs.
[ via : The Guardian ]
November 28, 2006
Organic farmed fish a contradiction in terms
Can fish really be “organic?” Well, that depends how the USDA shapes that definition in the coming years. Currently the agency has no standards for what qualifies a fish as organic and it seems they are moving towards guidelines that favor aquaculture—the factory farming of the sea—rather than wild caught fish.
This debate—between fishermen, fish farmers, and regulators is baffling since the organic movement is centered around food produced more safely for both those who eat it, and for the environment from which it comes. Most fish farms--it has been reported--put a heavy strain on the environment through unnatural concentration of
feces and uneaten feed. As for the quality of the fish, farmed salmon for example, can retain 16 times the dioxin-like PCBs found in their wild-caught counterparts.
According to Food & Water Watch, open-ocean fish farms require a minimum of three pounds of wild fish—caught and ground up--for every one pound of fish they send to market. With 90% of all wild fish populations scheduled to collapse by 2048, is it wise for the USDA to endorse as “organic” a practice which speeds up the depletion of our wild fisheries?
NY Times: Free or Farmed, When Is a Fish Really Organic? (28 Nov 06)
Food & Water Watch: Top 10 Problems with Offshore Fish Farming
Food & Water Watch: Aquaculture Drags Down Fish - and Jobs with It
Senior ex-official speaks on FDA's failure to get benzene out of soft drinks
In 1991 the FDA let the beverage industry decide what to do about benzene in its soft drinks, without offering any guidelines for eliminating the carcinogen. Fifteen years later, benzene was still forming in soft drinks containing the ingredients sodium benzoate and ascorbic acid.
In an article for Food Navigator, Chris Mercer interviews a former FDA enforcement official about the agency's permissive attitude toward carcinogens in soft drinks. Acknowledging he was “not proud” of the FDA’s inaction on benzene, the ex-official noted:
Big companies are very powerful. If you’re a regulator with a tight budget, it could have been one of those closets with skeletons in it that you don’t want to open.
But while industry may once have benefited from (or demanded) FDA’s hands-off regulatory style, a slew of lawsuits this year has some soft drink manufacturers—most notably Kraft Foods--requesting more guidance. According to Effect Measure, FDA just can’t win:
Now [FDA] are in danger of getting on the wrong side of the food industry, too, as the food industry entreats the FDA to give them guidance. The FDA can't even do its corruption competently.While the FDA and industry both trivialize the risks of cancer from benzene in soda, Effect Measure points out:
The problem is that with tends of billions of bottles consumed around the world, the risk doesn't have to be large. A one in a million risk is nothing for an individual but it is 1000 cancers for a billion individuals.The ex-FDA official adds perspective as well.:
There is a difference here between a small and unavoidable risk, and a small but avoidable risk, the source said.The FDA seems to think the risk is quite low here. On the other hand, it's in a [non-essential] product nobody needs, and it doesn’t have to be there. They claim they can reformulate.
November 21, 2006
OSHA tries to put the brakes on asbestos precautions
OSHA scientist Ira Wainless is facing unpaid suspension for standing by his assertion that mechanics should be warned of possible asbestos exposure from brake pads. Most people, including mechanics, assume that the import of asbestos-containing products has been banned in the U.S. as it has in most other countries. Think again. The Baltimore Sun reports an 83% increase in asbestos-laden imported brakes in the last decade. On top of that it appears that the Big Three automakers are behind the arm-twisting and intimidation of Wainless with lobbying muscle from none other than regulatory-hurdle-smashing consulting firm, Chemrisk—brainchild of Dennis Paustenbach. (You may remember Paustenbach from the Wall Street Journal article exposing his role in ghost writing a bogus study on the chromium toxicity.)
A special thanks to Baltimore Sun reporter, Andrew Schneider, for investigating this—and to our friends at Effect Measure for bring it to my attention. I highly recommend clicking through to their posts.
International body to punish polluters?
In Venice, the International Environmental Sciences Academy will meet to consider a court to penalize nations for pollution. Nobel Peace Prize Adolfo Perez Esquivel, president of the Academy, has proposed that the United Nations establish an International Penal Court for the Environment. The court would punish nations for intentional environmental "crimes against humanity," such as the Chernobyl disaster. We'll see how the community of nations responds. In the meantime, ordinary citizens can sign the Venice Charter for an International Criminal Environmental Court "to protect ecosystems, human and environmental health" here.
November 20, 2006
Are the new hydrogen cars as clean as they claim?
BMW has announced the introduction of the first hydrogen powered luxury car. Rather than C02, pure water vapor drips from its exhaust pipe. While the hydrogen tank’s range is limited to 200 kilometers (124 miles), a button on the steering wheel can switch the car from hydrogen to allow the car to use gas, allowing up to 500 additional kilometers (310 miles).
Sounds like a great idea, but like any new toy, a hydrogen car has its downsides. Besides the high price, there are a few other kinks in this seemingly smog-free ride. Producing hydrogen with fossil fuels can outweigh the benefits of using it as a fuel. BMW says they'd prefer to use hydrogen produced by wind or solar power, but for now, the fuel is generated by burning petroleum. Then there's the problem that only five hydrogen-fueling stations exist in the whole world. Still, BMW hopes that this high-profile model will spur other companies to produce hydrogen vehicles, which in turn means a bigger market for hydrogen produced with renewable energy and refueling stations.
November 17, 2006
More testing for Teflon-related health effects in West Virginia
An independent panel responsible for determining health effects of
the Teflon chemical C-8 are disatisfied with the design of the
initial study which only measured death rates among workers at the
West Virginia plant. The panel has requested a new study, which will
measure disease occurrence as well as death of workers at the Dupont
facility. [ via : Associated Press ]
November 15, 2006
American Dental Association concedes: Excessive fluoride a risk to children
After years of downplaying the risks of excessive fluoride intake, the American Dental Association (ADA) has just released new guidelines that dramatically reduce the recommended fluoride exposure for infants and children. Though not ready to condemn fluoride entirely for its role in enamel fluorosis, the ADA has issued an “interim” advisory on fluoride intake until more research can be done. This is a promising step for the ADA, which has resolutely promoted the fluoridation of water in the past. While it's commendable that the Association is alerting parents to the risks of fluorosis, a primarily cosmetic condition, it would be even better to issue a similar moratorium on account of the recent research tying fluoridated water to bone cancer in boys.
Until further notice, ADA recommends the following measures to reduce the risk of fluorosis:
Infants
- Feed infants breast milk whenever possible.
- For infants who get most of their nutrition from formula, choose ready-to-feed formula over formula mixed with fluoridated water.
- If liquid or powdered concentrate infant formula is the primary source of nutrition, mix with water that is fluoride free, including water that is labeled purified, demineralized, deionized, distilled or reverse osmosis filtered water.
Children
- Stay away from fluoride toothpaste before two years.
- No fluoride mouth rinse or supplements unless prescribed by a dentist.
- Check with your water supplier to make sure the fluoride level in your drinking water does not exceed the recommended 1.2 parts per million.
Related:
USA Today, Report raises flag on fluoride, 5/22/06
Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Excess fluoride can hurt teeth, bones, IQ, 5/23/06
Recent Enviroblog posts about fluoride.
French proposal to tax non-Kyoto supporters
As the climate change talks in Nairobi stagger forward, the French have thrown a new proposal into an already sludgy mix. Instead of allowing the world’s worst polluters, the United States and China, to ignore the problems, Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin has proposed taxes on imports from countries that have not signed the Kyoto Protocol.
De Villepin suggests that European countries stand up with France to tax coal usage, industrial pollution and aircraft noise pollution by 10 percent. The International Energy Agency’s press release yesterday attributes 60% of the CO2 growth of over 1.2 billion tones between 2003 and 2004 to an increase in coal use. A tax like the one proposed by De Villepin targets not only countries that need to be a part of Kyoto to make it worthwhile, but also targets a major part of the climate change problem.
This “carbon war” seems like a great response to the environmental dumping of developed countries. Will the WTO allow this economically forward and environmentally friendly proposal? We only need to remember the “tuna-dolphin” dispute of the US vs. Mexico, as well as many other examples, to see that such a forward thinking amendment may not be plausible. Watch and see if this hit-‘em-where-it-hurts approach creates a significant response within the next few days from the other delegations in Nairobi.
November 14, 2006
It's dust to dust in "treehugger hippy heaven"
GroovyGreen brings us this video about GreenSprings Natural Cemetery in New York. It's a good intro to the philosophies and practices behind the growing green burial movement. Green burials strive for a true "dust to dust" approach. In contrast, here's what the traditional funeral industry buries (in addition to bodies) each year:
- 827,000 gallons of formaldehyde
- 30+ million board-feet of hardwoods
- 90,000 tons of steel
- 1.6 million tons of concrete
Related: Enviroblog on embalming fluid ban
November 13, 2006
Journal reviews conflicts of interest in cancer research
The American Journal of Industrial Medicine reports this month on undisclosed conflicts of interest in cancer research:
Among the cases the Journal investigated were:Some consulting firms employ university researchers for industry work thereby disguising industry links in the income of large departments. If the industry affiliation is concealed by the scientist, biases from conflicting interests in risk assessments cannot be evaluated and dealt with properly. Furthermore, there is reason to suspect that editors and journal staff may suppress publication of scientific results that are adverse to industry owing to internal conflict of interest between editorial integrity and business needs.
- The cozy relationship Swedish professor Ragnar Rylander had with Phillip Morris where he worked as a paid consultant.
- The epic abuse of scientific research by Sir Richard Doll, best known for drastically understating the relationship between vinyl chloride (PVC) and cancer.
The report also exposes product-defense industry advocate Dennis Paustenbach for his role in casting doubt on the carcinogenicity of dioxins in Michigan. It was Paustenbach whom EWG brought to account for ghost authoring a Chinese study denying previous findings of a strong correlation between hexavalent chromium and cancer. The journal that published Paustenbach’s unethical report retracted it in July.
The authors of the AJIM review acknowledge that financial relationships between industry and researchers are becoming increasingly common and call for more rigorous and transparent policies on disclosing conflicts of interest.
November 9, 2006
Climate change a hot topic in the pulpit
From a letter by Rev. Gerald Durley of Atlanta’s Providence Missionary Baptist Church after viewing the climate change documentary The Great Warming:
"The faith community consistently prides itself on being in the prevention and healing business. Therefore, if we are serious about what we teach and preach, our message must speak clearly and boldly to:There is so much which can and must be accomplished when we know what is happening to our environment, and its direct impact on each of our lives. No one person, group or organization can bring about complete awareness and comprehensive change alone. The faith community must become a far-reaching, consistent voice, from pulpits, to exhort the masses to understand, get involved, speak out, and be converted to “SAVE OUR WORLD… FROM US!!”"
- What we can do to reduce levels of energy consumption;
- Learn how to effectively join forces with those who are more knowledgeable about improving environmental conditions; and,
- Discuss in sermons, seminars, workshops, and lectures about health issues, weather conditions, economic concerns, and the negative impact of global warming which are all connected to how the environment is regarded.
Christian Science Monitor, New sermon from the evangelical pulpit: global warming
November 8, 2006
Alternative energy proven cost effective as well as environmentally friendly
The International Energy Agency (IEA) came out with yet another economic report announcing the cost effectiveness of cleaner energy. Through use of energy trends, the World Energy Outlook, a division of IEA, demonstrated that the world will be facing unstable energy supplies at affordable prices and extreme environmental damage due to over-consumption of energy by 2030.
Even with all the gloom and doom, there’s good news if we’re willing to get up and do something. It seems that, much to many anti-alternative energy advocates’ chagrin, alternative energy is less expensive than fossil fuels.
"There are different upfront costs involved, but they are quickly outweighed by savings in fuel expenditure," said IEA executive director Claude Mandil to BBC News.
The report shows that for every dollar used to purchase more efficient electrical appliances and equipment, two dollars are saved in power generation.
With energy demands rising every year and many countries signing onto agreements like Kyoto to reduce their carbon emissions, alternative energy sources will be extremely valuable. What once seemed to be an expensive, unnecessary venture has developed beyond a popular fad into a viable alternative to the current and future energy crises. So go out, buy your florescent bulbs and call your call your energy company to request alternative fuels.
Study calls for protection of children from industrial pollution
A report in the Lancet, considered the world's most prestigious medical journal, warns of ''a silent pandemic” of impaired brain development due to exposure to unregulated industrial toxins, both in the womb and during a child’s first years.
The researchers, from Harvard School of Public Health and Mount Sinai School of Medicine, have identified 200+ industrial chemicals toxic to the human brain—only several of which (lead, mercury, PCBs) are regulated to protect children. They are calling for more research into the extent of harm caused by industrial chemicals and into how best to regulate them. Until then, the researchers have advised a “precautionary approach” which will strictly regulate any compound shown to be toxic, rather than require undisputable proof of damage already done. [ via : Reuters & Health News ]
Related Environmental Working Group studies:
Pollution in Newborns: An investigation of industrial chemicals, pollutants, and pesticides in human umbilical cord blood.
Mother's Milk: Record levels of toxic fire retardants found in American mothers' breast milk.
Across Generations: From grandparents to children, the pollution we share and inherit. Focus: Industrial chemicals in mothers & daughters.
The Pollution in People: Homepage for all EWG Body Burden investigations.
November 7, 2006
Carpeting linked to adult asthma
A study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology finds that exposure to carpeting and other materials in the workplace significantly increases adults' risk of developing asthma. Carpet contains over 100 known toxins including benzene, formaldehyde, and flame-retardants. Added features like stain resistance increase the number of toxins.
[ via : Reuters ]
November 6, 2006
EWG president sets record straight on "emergency" subsidies
Are weather-related complications, such as droughts, really 'disasters' if they seem to happen year after year? Many farmers who receive these payments seem to think so, but EWG President and farm policy expert Ken Cook challenges that notion with his response to a poorly-researched Aberdeen American editorial.
Taxpayers have a right to take a hard look at the flawed system their money supports. There are good reasons we don't grow grapefruit in South Dakota. Perhaps we should consider the viability of some of the other crops we grow there if the weather causes a "disaster" every other year. The way to fix the problem, according to Cook, is to “press politicians to explore new approaches to agriculture, resource use and disaster aid where growing conditions are so challenging that praying for an annual Act of Congress is standard business practice.”
As for the ill-informed editorial that spurred Cook's response, Cook reminds the American’s editors that:
• Environmental Working Group (EWG) is the only Washington-based conservation and environmental organization to have formally and repeatedly supported aid this year for farmers and ranchers who have been hit with weather-related crop and livestock losses;
• The paper would have served its readers better and more truthfully had it taken 30 seconds to fact check its fantasy piece about the "big city, metropolitan institution."
Read Ken’s full editorial:
National environmental group setting facts, records straight (5 Nov 2006)
November 3, 2006
New Zealand's green farmer awards
In a step toward creating a peaceful union between farming and conservation, the Ballance Farm Environment Awards of New Zealand announced their acceptance of nominations for farmers who have done the most toward sustainable farming this year. While international trade agreements are halting over economically antiquated (and environmentally unhealthy) subsidy issues, the Kiwis have decided to celebrate their progressive farming standards by holding awards for the most enviro-friendly farmers.
Okay, maybe the rewards aren’t great. While prizes are promised, there is no explanation of what they will consist of. And somehow I doubt that the recognition and learning benefits that are advertised are a great substitute for industrial or monetary benefits that many farmers need just to keep the farm running. But what has expanded to eight different regions of New Zealand over the short course of 4 years is clearly a popular pastime for these enviro-loving farmers. Kudos, green Kiwis.
In the news: November 3, 2006
Breast cancer may be linked to mother's childhood— New thinking on the causes of breast cancer suggests the disease's origins may be found not in anything a woman has done, but in what her mother — and possibly her grandmother — did before her. The findings further suggest that tiny exposure to hormone-like industrial chemicals early in life can have profound effects not just later in adulthood, but in future generations as well.
Fisheries face collapse by 2048- All of the world's fishing stocks will collapse before midcentury, devastating food supplies, if overfishing and other human impacts continue at their current pace. Already, nearly one-third of species that are fished — including bluefin tuna, Atlantic cod, Alaskan king crab, Pacific salmon and an array in California fisheries — have collapsed, and the pace is accelerating.
U.S. pesticide stockpile under scrutiny- The Bush administration is seeking world permission to produce thousand of tons of a pesticide that an international treaty banned nearly two years ago, even though U.S. companies already have assembled huge stockpiles of the chemical. Methyl bromide has been used for decades by farmers to help grow plump, sweet strawberries, robust peppers and other crops, but it also depletes the Earth's protective ozone. The United States and other countries signed a 1987 treaty promising to end its use by 2005.
Illinois closer to stronger mercury rules- Taking a swipe at the Bush administration's environmental policy, Illinois moved closer Thursday to requiring deep cuts in mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants. The limits endorsed by a state rule-making panel would make Illinois one of two dozen states that have rejected a slower, more lenient approach adopted by the federal government. What makes the Illinois regulations stand out is that Illinois is a major coal producer and user.
Ukraine to reprocess toxic rocket fuel- Ukraine said Thursday it planned to reprocess tons of highly toxic rocket fuel left over from Soviet times and convert it into environmentally safe fertilizer. "It is dangerous rocket fuel and it should be recycled," said Defense Minister Anatoly Grytsenko.
November 2, 2006
Measuring your disease risk
A new website by Harvard School of Public Health lets visitors tally their risk for several types of cancer, as well as heart disease, osteoporosis, diabetes, and stroke. Users input their age and gender and some more specific info about their lifestyle to get personalized risk level comparisons for a given disease against those of others in the same demographic. The risk calculator also gives good tips on risk minimization and screening.
Check out the Advocacy and Community Action page of the site for tips on the how you can help support healthy lifestyles in your community.
Note: I tried to bring this to you yesterday, but the site was down thanks to traffic from an October 31 Wall Street Journal piece.
Subsidies to protect the environment
Today’s Baraboo (Wisconsin) News Republic gives plain-English descriptions of federal farm subsidies. The piece makes a pretty good case for conservation payments:
The USDA divides subsidies into three categories: Conservation, disaster and commodity. [Sauk County Farm Service Agency Executive Director, Curt] Norgard said conservation subsidies are annual rental payments to farmers who do not plant "row crops" such as corn or soybeans to help protect fields from erosion and attract wildlife. Those deals generally last for 10 years."They are required to put in covers, seasonal grasses, tree planting and filter strips," Norgard said.
With this type, farmers get more of a say in the process, said Sauk County University of Wisconsin-Extension Agricultural Agent Paul Dietmann.
"A person can bid their land into the program, say, 'I'd accept $75 an acre for the first 10 years of the contract to keep this land out of production,'" Dietmann said. "That's land that is typically highly erodable or close to a stream where there is an environmental concern connected with the land."
Dietmann said these conservation subsidies are making a positive difference around Sauk County.
"It really reduces soil erosion quite a bit because you're not harvesting a crop off and exposing the soil," he said. "You establish a cover and leave it on over a long period of time. It really helps build organic matter in the soil."
November 1, 2006
Scared into action: avoid vampire currents
TreeHugger TV published this scary video this week about the energy our electrical devices draw when they’re not even turned on. According to the video:
Standby power consumes 7-25% of a home’s electricity bill.
Americans spend more money powering home audio devices and televisions when they are turned off than when they are actually in use.
That’s right. Turning everything off when you leave the house isn’t enough. To ensure that you aren’t losing energy to phantom currents, either unplug devices when not in use or use power strips that can accommodate many plugs and cut energy flow to them through one main switch. And watch out for those cell phone chargers. Only 5% of the power drawn by cell phone chargers is actually used to charge phones. The other 95% is consumed when the charger is left plugged in with no phone attached to it.