New York may join crackdown on plastic bags
NEW YORK (Reuters) – New York City may follow an international trend and crack down on plastic shopping bags, seeking to cut their use with a plan officials hope will be a model for other cities.
A proposal introduced on Monday requires stores larger than 5,000 square feet to set up an in-store recycling program and sell reusable bags.
In 2002, Ireland introduced a tax on plastic bags, reducing their use by 90 percent. Some communities in Australia have banned them in retail stores since 2003.
In March, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to ban plastic bags from large supermarkets and the state of California enacted a law in July that requires large stores to take back plastic bags and encourage their reuse.
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EPA Approves Pesticide Known to Cause Cancer and Miscarriages
Washington – On October 5, the EPA approved a new chemical fumigant for use on strawberries and other food crops across the U.S. The pesticide, methyl iodide, vaporizes quickly, causing it to drift far distances. Although the state of California has categorized it as cancer causing, and the EPA admits it causes thyroid tumors, the Bush Administration has been advocating approval of the fumigant for the better part of two years.
Hazardous Materials Found in Apple’s iPhone
Tests commissioned by Greenpeace reveal a variety of hazardous chemicals in both the external and internal components of Apple’s iPhone, the international environmental group said today. The chemicals included “phthalates” in the vinyl plastic earphone wiring at levels that are prohibited in young children’s toys in San Francisco and the European Union (EU). Greenpeace also previously found phthalates in the earphone wiring of Apple’s iPod Nano.
This is the third time that Greenpeace has tested an Apple product since 2006. Similar analyses of a MacBook Pro and an iPod Nano also revealed the presence of phthalates and BFRs.
Japan Struggles to Meet Its CO2 Emissions Limits
As Americans, we generate twice as much carbon dioxide as the average Japanese. The average Japanese lifestyle is greener than the average American’s because of the personal efforts of many Japanese. As a group, they recycle and ride bikes more than Americans. However, Japan is still struggling to meet its limits for CO2 emissions.
Japanese officials are counting on one incentive that Americans don’t have, which involves shaming Japanese companies.
“Basically what happens is that we publicize their name, the company name,” says Masa Ohara, the environmental policy director for the city of Tokyo. “And [we] tell publicly that they’re not [reducing emissions],” Ohara says. “This works very well for the Japanese.”
Kyoto approach on climate is “bad policy”: Bush
President George W. Bush said on Monday his administration’s approach of emphasizing voluntary approaches to address climate change was working and he denounced Kyoto-style mandatory caps as “bad policy.”
Bush’s comments were the latest sign that his opposition to binding emissions caps remains firmly entrenched, even as he has made efforts to show he wants to be more engaged in the global debate on climate change amid sharp criticism from other countries.
Turning Grey Into Green: Greywater Recycling Systems
Atlanta, Georgia – First a word about something called “greywater”. Greywater is basically washwater. As homeowners, we make a lot of it each day. It’s all wastewater excepting toilet wastes and food wastes derived from garbage grinders. No surprise, this partially used water can be re-used in your home for toilet flushing and watering gardens. Good for you, good for your water bill and good for the environment. Especially in drought stricken parts of the country like Georgia where the state’s Environmental Protection Division declared a level four drought for sixty-one counties in the state.
Phytoremediation: Using genetically alter plants to clean up toxins
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Scientists hope they’ve figured out a way to trick plants into doing the dirty work of environmental cleanup, U.S. and British researchers said on Monday.
“Our work is in the beginning stages, but it holds great promise,” said Sharon Doty, an assistant professor of forest resources at the University of Washington, whose study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In work they describe as preliminary, researchers at the University of Washington say they’ve genetically altered poplar trees to pull toxins out of contaminated ground water, perhaps offering a cost-effective way of cleaning up environmental pollutants.
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China considers environmental tax on polluters
China is considering an environmental tax on polluters to cut emissions, a senior government official said on Monday. “We are actively promoting this idea. But we have to consult with relevant ministries,” Pan Yue, deputy head of the State Environmental Protection Administration, told reporters on the sidelines of the ruling Communist Party’s five-yearly Congress.
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Indiana relaxing dumping limits for mill
A draft water permit includes fewer regulations on the discharge of pollutants into a river that feeds Lake Michigan.
Indiana is moving to scale back limits on pollutants dumped into a Lake Michigan tributary by the sprawling U.S. Steel Corp. mill in Gary, according to environmental lawyers and former federal regulators who have reviewed a proposed water permit.
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NWF Global Warming in Greenland
A team of researchers and scientists from the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) have been to Greenland to study the impacts of global warming on glaciers. Here are the video clips for their 4-day visit. See for yourself what we have done in changing the global climate and livelihood of people from other parts of the world.
