EarthTalk Q&A

Unfortunately, it is true that women all around the world have dioxins in their breast milk. In fact, most people—not just women—have detectable levels of dioxin in their tissues, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Okay, now we hate the tobacco companies. Or more, precisely, some of us love tobacco and others hate it, but nearly everyone hates the suits who sell the stuff. I have to admit it was great fun to tune in to C-Span to watch the CEOs of R.J. Reynolds and Phillip Morris, among others, squirm under the righteous wrath of Henry Waxman. Too bad it won’t change anything.

My two-and-a-half-year-old daughter Natalie loves to "wash the dishes," which is to say that she stands at the sink, holds a container under running water until it overflows and the empties it. She repeats this procedure over and over, inevitable getting soaked and spilling water all over the kitchen floor. When I finally tell her it’s time to stop, her disappointment is so acute that the tears seem to stream down her face with almost as much forces as the water coming out of the faucet.

There are two Arubas. One is a shining island jewel of white sand and blue-green surf in the Dutch Caribbean, a casino-driven magnet for American tourists, American hotel chains and every conceivable fast-food restaurant, from McDonald’s to Dunkin Donuts.

In 1991, only four sockeye salmon returned to their native waters in Idaho to spawn. In 1992, only one made it back. That solitary and no doubt exhausted salmon might be happy to learn about a major court victory that he and his brethren have just won. A judge in Portland, Oregon, has ruled that the federal government’s operation of hydroelectric dams of Idaho’s Snake River violates the Endangered Species Act. Idaho Governor Cecil D. Andrus and his stat government allies hailed the decision as similar to the early spotted owl cases that overturned the federal government’s timber practices, and plan to use Judge Malcom Marsh’s decision to win future courtroom victories for the region’s salmon.

This column, I have decided, is my application to be CEO of Ben and Jerry’s ice cream corporation. First, my political credentials: I spent seven years as editor of "Greenpeace Magazine." For retail experience, I have to dig a little deeper, but I did spend a summer flipping chesseburgers at Yellowstone Park. It was a growth experience.

PZEV don’t necessarily get better mileage than traditional cars but produce cleaner emissions by controlling exhaust with advanced engine controls.

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), incidences of skin cancer in the United States have reached epidemic proportions, with one in five Americans now developing the disease in their lifetime. The National Cancer Institute reports that cases of melanoma, the most serious form of skin cancer, increased faster than any other cancer among Caucasians in the U.S. over a recent 20-year study period.