Two thousand and six is emerging as the year Americans finally wake up to the reality of global warming. Of course, E has been hammering away at the issue for six years or more, but now it has momentum, with the release of several new books and a Time magazine cover story ("Be Worried, Be Very Worried") April 3.
An international team of researchers using advanced computer models is predicting that at the current rate of development, as much as 40 percent of the Amazon forest as we know it today will be gone by 2050. Britaldo Soares-Filho and his team based at Brazil’s Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais reported in the journal Nature that without more protections, more than 770,000 square miles of rainforest would be lost, with at least 100 native species losing more than half of their habitat.
Last week a national panel of scientists commissioned by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommended lowering the existing federal standard for safe amounts of fluoride in drinking water supplies. The panel, consisting of 12 experts from the National Academies’ National Research Council, cited research showing that children exposed to levels at or near the current standard of a maximum of four milligrams per liter of water can suffer severe tooth enamel damage, while adults with a sustained intake of that much fluoride can be prone to weak bones more susceptible to fracturing.
Is it true that a typical gas-powered lawn mower emits about as much pollution as a conventional internal combustion car engine?
With the recent hubbub over the chemicals used to make Teflon linked to health problems, what is the safest cookware to use in preparing meals?
Laurie David had a long and interesting career in the entertainment business, serving as David Letterman’s talent coordinator and forming her own management company that handled many top comedians and comedy writers.
Quick on the heels of Gail Norton’s resignation, President Bush last week announced that conservative Idaho Governor Dirk Kempthorne would take over as head of the Interior Department. Bush praised the outgoing Norton as "a strong advocate for the wise use and protection of our nation’s natural resources."
United Nations officials convened a two-day emergency summit in Paris last week to discuss the feasibility of listing five of the international agency’s World Heritage Sites as endangered due to global warming. Environmentalists blame melting glaciers on Mt. Everest and dying coral at the Great Barrier Reef on global warming, and are calling on the UN to institute special protections for such places.
If you aren’t sure if your food contains genetically engineered ingredients, it probably does. Now the question is, what’s the harm?
I’m looking for projects for my son’s elementary school to do for Earth Day this year. Do you know of any that can teach children about taking care of our environment?
