EnviroMental

Nota Bene

2009-12-23T12:58:00.002-05:00

This blog has been permanently moved to www.enviromentalog.com
I am officially a domain name owner. Please visit me there!

Responsible Drilling?

2009-12-20T21:06:00.004-05:00

I hate to beat a dead horse but check out this tweet from Sarah Palin this weekend:
Copenhgen=arrogance of man2think we can change nature's ways.MUST b good stewards of God's earth,but arrogant&naive2say man overpwers nature
Earth saw clmate chnge4 ions;will cont 2 c chnges.R duty2responsbly devlop resorces4humankind/not pollute&destroy;but cant alter naturl chng
I do not know where to even start with this tweet. First, an ion is a charged particle, I think she meant eons! Second, I don't think anyone attending the Copenhagen conference claimed that man dominated nature. Third, science has proven that there has always been climate change but it has been greatly accelerated since the Industrial Revolution.
It really boggles my mind that people not only don't believe in climate change but think they can continue to rape the earth without consequence. She claims that you need to responsibly develop resources. If I am not mistaken this is the same woman who had a chant of "Drill, Baby Drill" all along her campaign trail. How does one responsibly drill for oil without disturbing the earth and creating pollution?

This video makes me sick to my stomach!

What's Missing at Copenhagen? Answer: A Lot

2009-12-14T09:50:00.005-05:00

Is it just me or was the hype leading up to Copenhagen much bigger than the actual reporting of the event itself? I see an article here or there but I was expecting it to make much bigger headlines. (Thanks a lot, Tiger Woods) The word is that everyone is waiting for Obama to arrive and hear what he has planned for the US. An interesting article by Andy Revkin on NYTimes.com points out that a major piece missing from the talks is that of population growth. In graduate school we talked about population growth as a major factor influencing global warming and climate change. The current world population is about 6 billion and is expected to grow to about 9 billion. Our population is getting bigger at a faster rate and becoming more urban. People are moving from the country to the cities and using more resources. Of course this means more energy, food and water are required. Revkin points out that population is not discussed at the climate talks because of moral and religious implications of population control. However, China did point out that their one-child policies do help to cut down on consumption and emissions. (well I should hope they have a plan as they are one of the most populous and consumptive countries) Many poor countries that lack population control measures will be hardest hit by climate change and all of its ramifications like water shortages. I will be watching the reports that emerge from Copenhagen and will be curious to see what if any plans are hatched to address such a problem.

We Might As Well Face It- We Are Addicted To Coal

2009-12-11T15:15:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago two of us bloggers went to hear RFK Jr. speak at an event hosted by the NRDC. Let me just say up front- this man is my hero. He does everything I want to do! He is a lawyer but he fights against big polluters and advocates on the behalf of communities. He even sued Smithfield Foods- the pork company that was fodder for many of my grad school papers. He is a senior attorney for the NRDC, chief prosecuting attorney for Riverkeeper, and President of Waterkeeper Alliance. A little known fact- he is also an expert falconer. It would be hard to sum up everything he said. For that, I highly recommend his book Crimes Against Nature: How George W. Bush and His Corporate Pals are Plundering the Country and Hijacking Our Democracy.
However, I will provide you some highlights of the night. First of all this talk was a welcome change from the Net Impact conference. That conference was highlighted by the financial gains that can be had by going green- something I just could not get on board with. One of the first things Mr. Kennedy said was that we need to protect our environment for ourselves and for good health! Amen! An investment in our environment is an investment in our future, our children and our health.
During the Bush years this country was run on "pollution based prosperity". I had some idea that the Bush administration was sprinkled with execs from the oil and energy industry, but after reading Kennedy's book I am appalled by the ridiculous cronyism that took place in the last 8 years. The people in charge of monitoring environmental policies are the ones breaking them everyday.
America suffers from a horrible disease- carbon addiction. We just cannot quit it. There are many other ways to provide energy to our country but we are ruled by the carbon class. The oil and energy companies are so in bed with the government and are major drivers behind energy and environmental policy. The government gives $1.3 trillion to oil subsidies. WHAT??? Perhaps that money would be more useful for organic food subsidies or wind turbine subsidies. Kennedy said that every nation that has decarbonized has experienced instant prosperity.
Mr. Kennedy wasn't saying anything new that we all haven't heard before. We must must must must wean ourselves from carbon. He provided some other little factoids that I find very persuasive:
1. We spend about $1 million a year on every soldier fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. If we ended the wars we could spend that money on solar, wind and geothermal energy.
2. We cannot have high speed rail in this country because all of the tracks are warped due to coal cargo trains.
3. We use 1,000 gigawatts of energy per day and 500 of those are carbon based.
4. $135 billion is spent on health care due to exposure to particulate matter and ozone.
I think as we head into Copenhagen these are all interesting things to think about... I thank Mr. Kennedy for reigniting my passion and reminding me why I switched careers in the first place.

Tap To It!

2009-12-09T12:14:00.003-05:00

Last night I participated in a NYC tap water taste test given by ambassadors of Riverkeeper. I had to drink both NYC tap water and an unnamed bottled water. I then had to guess which was the NYC tap water. Surprise- I got it wrong!! I am a big advocate of NYC water so I think it only fitting that I could not tell the difference between the tap water and the expensive bottled water. I brought the cup to my face and stuck my nose in it and smelled it a la Paul Giamatti in Sideways. Unfortunately, that technique did not work. I was stumped. I stood there and watched numerous people fail this taste test. But I think what's missing here is that not only does NYC water taste better it is most probably cleaner than the bottled water. As I wrote in a previous post the NYC water system is very intricate and a lot of time, money and effort is invested to make sure it is clean and healthy to drink. I also think that NYC water has magical powers. Have you ever tried a bagel outside New York? Disgusting.

25 Years of No Progress

2009-12-03T11:57:00.004-05:00

Today is the 25th anniversary of the Bhopal, India disaster. On December 3, 1984, a plant, owned by Union Carbide, that manufactured pesticides leaked methyl isocyanate gas. It is often cited as the worst industrial disaster in history. Approximately 8,000 people died and many people were sickened with illnesses that would plague them for the rest of their lives. The soil and the groundwater are still contaminated by the deadly chemicals that leaked from the plant. The residents of Bhopal are still battling illness and disability caused by this accident. Many people who were exposed to the deadly gas have passed on defects to their children and even grandchildren. There are still lawsuits pending against Union Carbide (now Dow Chemical) because there are approximately 390 tons of toxic chemicals still on the site, leaching into the ground. Oddly enough, the pesticides at the plant were being produced to aid Indian farmers with the Green Revolution, brought to India by innovators like Norman Borlaug. In a previous post I praised Borlaug and his work but many times something that seems like a sound plan has many unforeseen consequences.

Fracking....Continued

2009-11-29T15:04:00.005-05:00

I told you I would follow the fracking debate and this weekend as I was reading about White House crashers (seriously?) I was distracted by an article about the split in an upstate community over fracking. Many families in upstate New York own a nice chunk of land. Most were approached by energy companies with a proposition of drilling on their land. Some were outraged and convinced that the negative health effects were not worth the money being offered. Others were lured by the money to be earned and a chance to "rebuild" their community and convince their children to stay in the area. The drilling would be jobs to a community in great need of an economic boost. Some people are being offered $5,000-$6,000 an acre for five years with royalties of 20% for gas that is found. As an unemployed recent grad school grad I can totally understand the lure of money. However, if someone told me they would give me $250,000, but there was a good chance there would be benzene in my drinking water, I am pretty sure I would turn it down. I remember few things from Organic Chemistry but I will never forget the benzene ring. It has 6 carbons and 3 alternating double bonds.

Benzene is an especially pernicious toxic substance. Benzene is a known carcinogen which can have effects from both short term and long term exposure. There is no dispute that benzene causes leukemia. In my opinion this is the main reason the DEC cannot allow drilling in the Marcellus Shale. Millions of people depend on that water and we cannot risk benzene contamination!
Another major issue raised in this article is that of "compulsory integration". This allows gas companies to drill on land they do not have consent for as long as they have most of the leases in the surrounding areas! What???? How can this be legal? You can threaten my drinking water after I explicitly said no. This does not make sense to me. This just seems like a disaster waiting to happen. Who will monitor the water? Will it be given a clean bill of health only to find an entire community and possibly New York City residents sick with leukemia in 20 years...? I understand there are always trade offs, but in my book, risk to human health should never be traded.

Farm Fresh Food Stamps

2009-11-24T09:07:00.000-05:00

New York City has been leading the way in local, sustainable eating and farming. A new greenmarket pops up all the time. For the last few years I have been listening with half an ear to the voices that have been pushing for more acceptance of food stamps at these greenmarkets. Now that I am more informed I am listening with both ears. Lower income people are usually the ones most plagued by obesity and diabetes and would benefit the most from the fresh seasonal produce offered at the markets. The Department of Health has been working tirelessly to change the eating habits of low income communities in numerous ways. This summer they began offering $2 vouchers for every $5 spent at greenmarkets. This has resulted in a major increase in food stamps used at the markets. In 2008, only $100,000 in food stamps were spent. This year it more than doubled to $226,000. This is due in large part to the installation of Electronic Benefit Transfer stations that allow easy scanning of food stamp cards. It ain't our grandparents paper stamps anymore. Lack of education isn't always the culprit in these situations. Most of the time it is access- access to fresh, healthy food.

Recap of the Net Impact Conference Part II

2009-11-23T11:22:00.003-05:00

Here is the 2nd part of the weekend- recapped. There were a few keynote panels that got progressively interesting and entertaining as the weekend went on. The first one was a “fireside chat” with Cornell President David Skorton and Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE. (Because I watch too much TV I could not stop picturing Alec Baldwin up on stage as Vice President of East Coast Television and Microwave Oven Programming) He used a lot of business jargon that I am not familiar with. The most interesting part was when he admitted that he was a lifelong Republican. I am pretty sure at our school that you would not admit to such things but I admire his frankness. Even though he is a Republican, President Obama employs his clean energy expertise. Now that’s what I call reaching across the aisle.

The final keynote panel was the most interesting. Joe Sibilia, CEO of Meadowbrook Lane Capital and CSRwire.com moderated it. The panelists were Jeff Furman, Board Member of Ben and Jerry’s, Seth Goldman, President and TeaEO (hardy har) of Honest Tea and Lisa Lorimer, Founder of Vermont Bread Company. The title of the talk was Selling Up or Selling Out: Maintaining a Social Mission While Growing to Scale. The main focus was the social initiatives that each company dedicates themselves to. Did you know that Greyston Bakery in Yonkers made the brownies in all Ben and Jerry’s ice cream? This bakery employs disadvantaged people who have had trouble finding employment in the past. Honest Tea’s distribution division was recently bought by Coca Cola. An audience member posed an excellent question to Mr. Goldman, who provided an excellent answer. She asked him how could he, knowing what he knows about companies like Coca Cola and their involvement in privatization of water, do business with them? He responded by saying that he does not represent Coca Cola and that since they started doing business together nothing about his dedication and efforts to social action has changed. He is still running his business exactly how he wants; Coca Cola is just delivering his product. I have mixed feelings about these small companies doing business with these huge corporate monsters, but I think his answer was honest and fair.

I used to think when it came to environmentalism that peoples’ intentions needed to be pure. Now, I don’t care what your motivations are as long as you are doing the right thing and putting up the money. And don’t forget to hire us scientists!

I will leave you with a few terms that were more than bandied about the entire weekend- base of the pyramid, metrics, leverage, binary, CSR, corporate citizenship. If you want to work in the business world, you might want to learn these terms.

Recap of Net Impact Conference: Part I

2009-11-18T08:06:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I attended the Net Impact conference at Cornell University. It was sponsored by the Johnson School of Business and its purpose was to bring together MBA students and professionals interested and focused on sustainability and corporate responsibility. I felt a little out of place the whole weekend as many of the discussions were off topic for me but I definitely brought something new to the table- an angle to the sustainability discussion that many of these people had not thought about. Many times over the weekend these students were commended for their commitment to sustainability and environmental change- but as some of the panelists pointed out it is mostly motivated by economics. While I don’t doubt that the majority of the people there truly have a passion for saving the environment I can’t help but be skeptical about their motivations. We come from a place of health. In our world, the driving force for sustainability and environmentalism is human health. In their world they are motivated by dollar signs.
I will break this blog into two separate posts so that I don’t overwhelm you with information.
I attended some interesting panels throughout the weekend. The first one I attended was called “Creating Access to Clean Water: A Top Down vs. Bottom Up Approach”.
The two main points that I took away with me was the importance of community building. When trying to create a social movement it is essential to get the community involved and let them be the owners of the project. You must have buy in from all the stakeholders or your venture will never succeed. Secondly, Kevin Mc Govern, Founder and CEO of the Water Initiative and professor at the Johnson School, made an excellent point that I had never really thought about before. His company provides filters for people in Mexico to filter arsenic, fluoride, and pathogens. We all know the ill health effects of all three of these things and understand the need for these filters. He said that his company is for profit and he doesn’t feel bad about it at all. Non-profits can go into a country and do work and then leave because their money ran out or some other reason. The two main problems that communities face from NGO work is abandonment and maintenance. For profits don’t leave as easily and usually stay in the country for a much longer time to see things through because their product and their reputation are on the line. A good example of this would be the digging of tube wells in Bangladesh by UNICEF. The majority of the wells contained arsenic and there was consequently a major arsenic poisoning of the Bangladeshi people. UNICEF has worked to fix this problem on a small scale. But ultimately, they are not claiming responsibility for this. In my Water and Infectious Disease class we talked at length about the important role women play in providing clean drinking water and clean water for sanitation for their families. The world over women are usually the keepers of the household but in many poor areas girls are the ones walking the 10 miles to fetch the water. So it is important to target them to teach them about water, sanitation and hygiene (aka WASH). Here is an interesting factoid: if you teach boys your return is 1:1 but if you teach girls your return is 1:10!!!!!!!

Fracking- Just as Dirty as it Sounds!

2009-11-16T11:57:00.001-05:00

I have recently been introduced to the term fracking. I thought the fellow telling me about it was just being cheeky but no, it's an actual term. Fracking is the shorthand way of saying hydraulic fracturing- a method of drilling that includes injecting fluid into an oil/gas deposit to fracture the rock and release the oil/gas. Energy and gas companies want to drill in the Marcellus Shale, a formation of sedimentary rock that stretches from NY State to Tennessee, for natural gas. Last year Gov. Paterson signed a law that would allow companies to drill this area in New York. In 2005 Congress passed the "Halliburton Loophole" that exempts hydraulic fracturing from the reach of the Safe Drinking Water Act, which regulates most drilling in drinking water resources. However, many concerned citizens and public officials are concerned about the wastewater pollution and environmental health effects this is going to have on the NYC watershed and other watersheds located throughout this region. The DEC has released reports that fracking can cause radioactive wastewater. Fracking is known to release toxins during the drilling process that can then contaminate the aquifers and wells. The Chesapeake Energy Co. owns leases on some of the land but they have promised that they will not drill in the area. Some public officials are calling for written statements that declare there will be no drilling done. The DEC has been holding public hearings that are beginning to get quite heated.
Here is a video of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer at the recent DEC hearing at Stuyvesant High School.

This is an interesting debate that I will continue to follow closely and hopefully attend one of the open hearings.
One of our other bloggers blogged about hydraulic fracturing in an earlier post in the context of the citizen's right to know. Check it out here.

Egypt gives new meaning to "Pig Out"

2009-11-10T11:44:00.001-05:00

Apparently swine flu is here to stay. I just wish the hysteria would die down already. More people die from seasonal flu every year and people are not in such a panic over it. If there was one aspect of public health that I think needs major work it would be the communication of risk to the public. I think the CDC is trying very hard and I give them credit but the media and such get people whipped into such a frenzy that there is no way to calm them down. The facts and figures are no longer persuasive because everyone is afraid they are going to die from swine flu. The most asinine action that really got me worked up was the actions of the Egyptian government. When the panic first swept the world Egypt ordered the slaughter of every single pig in the country. Six months later they are realizing it was maybe not the best idea! (In my best 80's voice- DUH!) Not only will that not stop the spread of swine flu but it had other unintended consequences, such as trash build up. In Egypt, pigs ate all the organic matter from the garbage. Now the job has fallen to the goats who do not do nearly as good a job as the pigs and hence Egypt now faces a major trash problem!
It seems that even after the ministers were informed that pigs were not the main culprit in the spread of the disease it became more of a social issue. It was an effort to clean up the areas where the garbage collectors lived and fed organic waste to pigs.
When faced with health scares many governments (ours included) do not create a well thought out game plan. The solution usually lies in how best to treat the problem NOW- the future be damned. Egypt is a prime example of how not to react during a crisis. Read the article here.
It seems like Egypt could definitely use a revamp of their public health system. I do need a job, but I don't think I want one that badly!

Bee Update

2009-11-08T16:55:00.003-05:00

As per one of my previous posts we know that Haagen-Dazs is trying to promote the repopulation of honeybees. Through November 11, Haagen-Dazs will donate $1 for every tweet about the honeybees. They will donate for up to 500 tweets a day with the proper hashtag. The money will go to honeybee research at UC Davis.

Environmental Crimes

2009-11-08T16:53:00.000-05:00

I recently read an article in the NAEP (National Association for Environmental Professionals) journal that was really eye opening. It explored the question of who should be held responsible for environmental crimes and what is the exact definition of environmental crime. The article brought forth the examples of Kuwait, Hiroshima and Vietnam as environmental casualties of war. The authors argue that it is essential to legitimize the idea of environmental crimes so that someone is held accountable in the aftermath of a war. As a child, I remember watching on TV the oil wells in Kuwait burn for days. This was before I was an environmental advocate so it never occurred to me to be worried about the massive amounts of pollution being released into the atmosphere from these fires. Now, that I have a better understanding of pollution I find it horrifying that these things are allowed to go unpunished. The Vietnam War was a little before my time but I definitely learned about it many times in school and Agent Orange was only mentioned in passing. However, this was a major destructive force in the war, in addition to weapons and artillery. According to the article the US used 1.84 million gallons of Agent Orange between June 1962 and January 1971. The US used this chemical to eliminate Vietnamese camouflage and destroy food supplies of the Viet Cong. However, exposure to this chemical has caused a higher incidence of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma in American soldiers. I am sure that there are many undocumented consequences for the Vietnamese as well.
I understand that war is hell, but there are standards for war, i.e. the Geneva Convention. But it seems that when it comes to environmental and human health damage countries are never properly punished. Currently, there is no international legal framework by which standards can be set and people/countries can be prosecuted for crimes. Many countries have strict laws against pollution and environmental crimes but once you add war across international borders to the mix it becomes a lot more murky. There is also the question of what is considered an environmental crime? What is the exact definition of environment? How do you prove deliberate actions?
This article was quite thought provoking and made me consider an aspect of environmental harm that I had not previously thought of. I would love to hear some thoughts on this topic....

Cigarette Litter

2009-10-21T13:58:00.003-04:00

I have never smoked cigarettes nor do I care to. I find smoking a disgusting habit but what really bothers me more is how people pollute every day with their cigarettes. On my first visit to Chicago one of the very first things I noticed was how clean the streets were. The New York City streets and sidewalks are littered with cigarettes. People finish smoking and just throw the butts into the street. In fact, today I saw a man throw his cigarette down the sewer. The water in there is sent to a facility where it is cleaned and recycled- why on earth would you throw your cigarette in there. Cigarette filters are not biodegradable and need to be disposed of properly. While I commend Mayor Bloomberg for outlawing smoking in restaurants and bars and drastically reducing smoking rates in New York City, I wonder why there is not a crackdown on cigarette butt littering. I thought we were living in an age where most of us agree that litter is bad for the environment, why are cigarettes not considered litter for which people should be fined.
Check out this website to learn more about cigarette butt littering.

Float On!

2009-10-15T11:57:00.002-04:00

As a teenager in the 90's I had an unhealthy obsession with Brad Pitt. I collected pictures of him from magazines, saw all his movies and memorized every factoid about his life. He was a teen idol. Now, he has become a different kind of idol and I don't really remember when his birthday is. I don't care what his motivations are but he is definitely changing the way we think about urban design- paying special attention to environmental impacts. After Hurricane Katrina Mr. Pitt ran a design contest. He wanted people to design homes that were environmentally friendly but also flood proof. One particular proposal, aptly called the Flood House, is quite amazing. It is not just a concept anymore, it can be ready for move-in next month. This house is not just for disaster scenarios but will come in quite handy when all the icebergs melt due to climate change. The base of the house can be used as a raft in up to 12 feet of water. My only complaint is that it will obviously have no basement- where am I supposed to store all my seasonal clothes?
Read the article here.

Eggs To Go!

2009-10-13T13:46:00.003-04:00

I realize in my last post I gave advice that not everyone is able to follow. Not everyone can afford or has access to local farmers, but if the Germans have anything to do with it this is not a problem without a solution. A German farm has begun selling produce out of a vending machine so that their products can reach all consumers at any time of the day. How cool would it be to have these machines? But I still love my peanut M&M's so this machine would have to be next to the old junk filled one.
Read the article here.

Let's Hope We Are Not What We Eat!

2009-10-09T13:25:00.003-04:00

A very important lesson that I learned while getting my Masters of Public Health (I graduate in 2 weeks!) is that just because something is approved by a federal agency (FDA, USDA) does NOT mean it is going to be 100% safe. This is especially true with food products. The New York Times (clearly my newspaper of choice) has been running some very interesting articles about meat production in the United States. This week's article is about a young woman who contracted E. coli from eating a hamburger. She became so ill that doctors put her in a coma and when she awoke she was paralyzed.
I don't want to get on a soapbox but it seems that I have to. The article points out that ground beef is the usual suspect in E.coli infections because the meat usually comes from different parts of different cows and sometimes even from different slaughterhouses. Each slaughterhouse might have different levels of caution when inspecting their meat and you can really never trust any of them. Some of the meat comes from parts of the cow that are likely to have come in contact with feces, a carrier of E.coli. E.coli cannot be effectively killed by thorough cooking. (stop me if I am heading into Oprah land). These are all reasons why you should eat local, organic meat. You should know your farmer and know his/her practices. They are most likely not mass producing meat and getting it from other slaughterhouses. They usually pride themselves on being part of the process from birth to slaughter and not using meat of sickly looking animals. (although E.coli cannot really be determined with the naked eye)
What I really find shocking is that the USDA allows meat grinders to create their own safety plans. WHAT?
Here is the link to the article.
Do you eat local meat? If so, from where?

Happy Reading!

2009-09-27T16:40:00.002-04:00

I have not had much time to blog lately. But, while I think up something amazing to blog about I wanted to post some interesting reading material for our followers.
Here is an article about a career EPA man who doesn't believe in climate change and is quite vocal about it. He has stirred up quite a controversy with his opinions.
Anyone who has ever heard Mayor Bloomberg speak at a food related event knows he has quite the affinity for Cheez-Its. It is his vice. Apparently though he has some other food vices as well. This article chronicles the diet of the Mayor and it's not as healthy as you think.
Shai Agassi was a guest this week on The Colbert Report. Watch the video here. Shai Agassi is an Israeli entrepreneur who is trying to create a network of affordable electric cars. (Maybe he will be the one to finally do it!)

Live Every Week Like It's Climate Week!

2009-09-23T23:31:00.003-04:00

Tracy Jordan, he of 30 Rock fame, imparted this wisdom to Kenneth the page- Live every week like it's Shark Week! Now, I do love shark week but shark week has already passed for this year. I think Tracy's advice can translate very well to Climate Week. Climate week is already halfway done but that doesn't mean that you can't still find some interesting events to attend. Climate week is a week full of events related to climate issues while all the world's leaders are in town for the UN Climate Change conference. So go and learn all you can so that all 52 weeks are climate week.
P.S. How many times does the word "climate" appear in this post- geez!

Death of a Food Innovator

2009-09-22T22:47:00.002-04:00

Last week the world lost one of its greatest innovators, Norman Borlaug. I am sure to most that name is unfamiliar but to billions of people he is an unsung hero. He is the unofficial father of the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution is not the modern day movement to go green but rather a scientific breakthrough in the 1940's. Many of the world's nations including Mexico and India were starving. Their crops were not sturdy and were not producing enough yield to feed their people. Borlaug, a plant pathologist, engineered dwarf wheat that was disease resistant. It was dwarf wheat so that the stalk wouldn't fall over from the weight of the plant. The Rockefeller Foundation commissioned Borlaug to work in Mexico and engineer sturdier wheat. The Revolution began with wheat but then expanded to rice and corn.

Borlaug's work undoubtedly changed the world's agricultural system. However, his work is very controversial. On the one hand he has supporters who thank him for quite literally feeding the world and saving lives. On the other hand he has critics who claim that his innovations led to overpopulation, increased use of pesticides, a shift away from family farms, explosion of monocultures (which lead to the need for pesticides), and the popularization of industrial agriculture.

I am usually a critic of anyone who promotes monocultures and anything that enhances factory farming (both of grains and animals). However, in this case I think Norman Borlaug was a hero. He responded to the naysayers by saying "some of the environmental lobbyists of the Western nations are the salt of the earth, but many of them are elitists. They've never experienced the physical sensation of hunger." The people of Mexico and India were starving and it wasn't really the place or time to experiment with alternative farming methods. They needed food as fast as possible and they needed to become self sufficient. The Green Revolution taught the world to feed themselves. Sometimes, a non-ideal situation calls for non-ideal solutions.
Here is an obituary from the New York Times, that is more like a tribute.

Right to Know?

2009-09-20T18:42:00.011-04:00

If you work in an industry in which there exists the possibility that you will be exposed to hazardous chemical materials in your workplace, your employer is required by law to make information available to you regarding the nature of those hazards. If you are a generator of hazardous wastes or a proprietor of a business that manufactures, stores or processes hazardous materials, you are required by law to inform the community in which your business resides of the type, quantity and hazards of the chemicals in your facility. Why then, should companies which pump hazardous materials into the ground (!) to extract hydrocarbons be exempt from such requirements when it comes to revealing the nature of those materials???

This is exactly the question debated in an excellent recent article in the industry magazine Chemical and Engineering News (8/17/09). The text of the article is only accessible to paid subscribers, but the regulatory debate is intense, particularly in areas where the practice is common, or likely to become common, as in the Marcellus Shale region of upstate New York and Pennsylvania.

Hydraulic fracturing, as the method is known, essentially involves the injection of huge volumes of chemical slurry mixtures into solid rock formations containing natural gas. The slurry displaces the gas, which is then recovered for energy generation. This method is especially useful in areas where most of the easy to retrieve gas has already been recovered, or where the gas is inherently difficult to reach, like the Marcellus Shale. Exactly what is in these chemical/water/sand slurries is largely unknown, however. And since it is not difficult to imagine that the process of injecting chemicals into the ground could potentially pose a hazard to nearby groundwater, communities in areas where the practice is used are understandably concerned.

Drilling companies claim that the evidence of groundwater contamination resulting from hydraulic fracturing is anecdotal. Right-to-know regulation is unnecessary, they argue, because hydraulic fracturing is not new and has been practiced safely for years, and that the depths to which the chemicals are injected are sufficiently deep to prevent groundwater contamination. Furthermore, the industry claims that national regulation of this practice would result in a burdensome additional layer of bureaucracy that would require them to obtain drilling permits at both the state and federal levels. And oh by the way, their slurry mixtures are proprietary, and they might not want to let everyone know exactly what they contain.

A number of politicians are not buying it, and are insisting that the drilling firms be held to the same disclosure standards as other industries. Charles Schumer, the Democratic Senator from NY, has introduced legislation that would require such disclosure. Seems to me that if these firms want a piece of the bonanza-waiting-to-happen that is the Marcellus Shale and other under-exploited reserves, they should also be willing to file a bit more paperwork. If I were a neighbor to one of these operations, I would certainly hope I had a right to know.

Happy Anniversary Cholera!

2009-09-08T23:12:00.004-04:00

You know that Google Newsfeed bar at the top of your gmail that reads your email and tells you links to sites that might interest you? Today, I got the most interesting link and I am really not sure what email Google was reading that generated it. Here is the link. Apparently on this day 155 years ago John Snow convinced the London authorities to remove the pump handle on a water pump in Soho. For those not in the know, you might say big deal, that doesn't sound too eventful. However, for public health specialists this is comparable to our day of Creation. John Snow proved that the removal of the handle stopped the spread of the cholera epidemic in its tracks and he then went on to map out the entire city and its incidences of cholera- thus he begat Epidemiology.

Snow was the first to promote the idea that cholera (or as our Swiss professor pronounces it Koh-Lair-Ah) was spread by drinking water contaminated with raw sewage. The main theory of the day was that it was dirty air that caused the epidemic. It took some convincing but Snow was able to change minds about cholera and change the way it was controlled. Now only if John Snow was around to work on this pesky swine flu "epidemic."

The Top 10 List You Don't Want To Be On

2009-09-04T16:04:00.007-04:00

The Blacksmith Institute, an organization dedicated to cleaning up the world's most polluted areas has a top 10 list of most polluted sites around the world. You can still nominate a site for the 2009 list. On the 2007 list is La Oroya, Peru. This is a very interesting site because there are many issues at hand. The owner of the smelters in La Oroya is the Doe Run Corporation owned by Ira Rennert, a major US businessman and philanthropist. La Oroya is often profiled because of the stark juxtaposition between the living conditions of the Peruvian townspeople and Ira Rennert.
Here is what La Oroya looks like:

Here is Ira Rennert's Hamptons home:

Here is a 10 minute video profiling Herculaneum, Missouri, La Oroya and Ira Rennert.

99% of the children in La Oroya have blood lead levels that greatly exceed any acceptable limits. Even newborn babies have extremely high lead levels that were passed from their mothers in the womb. High lead levels can greatly affect mental development. The Doe Run Corporation has promised to clean up the site but in 2004 they asked for an extension to come up with an environmental management plan. There is external pressure to shut down the smelters because of the widespread illnesses. However, even though their families are sick many of the smelter employees are opposed to shutting down the plants. This is their job and their only source of income. They have nowhere else to go and their lives would be completely disrupted and uprooted if they had to move and find new employment.
On a positive note, a team led by the Blacksmith Institute visited La Oroya in May 2008 and found that Doe Run's efforts to curb emissions and improve health have been somewhat effective. However, these are the opinions of the Blacksmith Institute and have been refuted by other organizations. Click here to read a critique of the findings.

The Year of Living Sustainably

2009-09-02T08:20:00.002-04:00

There is a lot of information out there on how to live sustainably. It can be very hard to wade through all the information and figure out what works best for you. A new blog is quite comprehensive and impressive, so much so that it is now a book.
Check out No Impact Man
The blogger decided to try living for a year without creating environmental impacts. The most interesting fact is that he tried to do this in New York City, not the most conducive setting for this experiment. Check out his blog or buy the book and get living more sustainably.

Urban Gardens Are Your Civic Duty

2009-08-27T12:00:00.003-04:00

If my previous post The Bees' Knees got you interested in urban farming, here is an article about a couple of Brits who are trying to make it easier for you. I especially love the Beehaus.
They have inspired me so much that I think I am going to suggest to my parents that they begin to keep an Eglu in their backyard. What? Chickens thrive in the suburbs.
The article touches upon the rise in interest in gardening. It is a cheaper, healthier way to eat. You don't have to use pesticides and you know exactly what is going in to your soil. In some ways the renewed gardening campaigns remind me of the victory garden campaigns used during WWI and WWII. The reasoning behind victory gardens is somewhat different than an urban garden but it promotes personal gardens nonetheless. Victory gardens were advocated during the wars to relieve pressure on the public food supply. Eleanor Roosevelt had one at the White House (not so original, Mrs. Obama).

Health Care Reform for Dummies

2009-08-23T20:04:00.001-04:00

Are you confused about health reform? I don't blame you it's quite a conundrum. This post is going to appeal more to our public health readers rather than our environmental ones. But, I think it is an important issue to discuss.
I will try my best to make as much clear as possible.
Let's start with this premise: our healthcare system is broken. I don't think that is debatable. Something has to change so that 45-50 million people are not uninsured. These people don't receive primary care and tend to use the Emergency Room as their doctor's office. You, the taxpayer pay for that. Wouldn't you rather not? Isn't everyone entitled to health care?
Here are some links that help to explain the new proposals.
Let's start with the government's website. It gives an overview of the new system and you can also share your personal story (which I of course already did).
Here is one from the Washington Post that explains the difference between single payer system and socialized medicine. Basically, there is a difference between them. Socialized medicine is where the government provides health services. Health care providers are essentially employees of the federal government. A single payer system is where the government PAYS for the health care but does not own the system.
Another issue that needs to be cleared up is the fake Death Panels. Sarah Palin and her cronies are saying that Obama and his plan are promoting euthanasia and are going to have death panels that decide whose life is more worthy of being saved. This is just plum not true. There is no such thing. Here is an article that dispels these myths and sets the record straight. What is really going on is that there are proposals in the legislation that would provide coverage for consultations for end of life care.
My favorite part of this debate is watching very ill informed people complain that they don't want the government meddling with their health care. My favorite video is that of the woman who had cancer and claimed to love the health care she received while sick. She is now getting divorced and is unemployed, and hence has no health insurance. But she is adamant about the government not telling her what kind of health care she should have. What this woman fails to understand is that no health insurance is going to take the risk of insuring her because she is unemployed and a cancer survivor. She is exactly the person who would benefit from the public option. Watch her rant. (Please disregard the very rude representative in the beginning)

Here is another favorite video of mine proving the lack of knowledge of these protesters.

And just in case you live under a rock and haven't seen the Barney Frank video. Here it is.

Last time I checked Nazis were not looking to provide health care for all German citizens.
The public option will be an ALTERNATIVE to the private options. Many people misunderstand and think that the government is going to require them to be on public insurance. They are afraid that the government is going to take away their right to choose. But many of these same people have no problem taking away a woman's right to choose.
I do not claim to know everything about health care reform and if you have any questions or comments please free to send them along.

Hug a Tree, Then Save a Whale

2009-08-13T23:56:00.011-04:00

I really do not go to the movies very often. At $12.50 a pop I usually wait for it to come out on DVD. However, if something really catches my interest, I make an exception. I made an exception for The Cove. I had read very little about this movie, besides that it was about a small Japanese town that slaughters thousands of dolphins. Immediately, I was interested because I have a soft spot for animals.
I think a lot of environmentalists get a bad rap because a lot of people just assume we all want to save the whales. "Saving the whales" and "hugging trees" have become slurs used to poke fun at people who are dedicated to environmental causes. But, saving the whales is a very important environmental concern that has both public health and ecosystem ramifications.

SPOILER ALERT: I am going to discuss the film in some detail, so if you are planning to see it, stop reading here and come back and read this post after.
The movie is directed by Louie Psihoyos, who is one of the main characters in the film. Louie teamed up with Ric O'Barry, the former trainer of all the Flipper dolphins. Ric O'Barry feels personally responsible for the capture and commercialization of dolphins around the world and is now an advocate to end these practices. His main focus is the town of Taiji, Japan. Every year the fishermen of Taiji round up dolphins by banging on poles to disorient the dolphins by messing with their sonar. They corral them into the bay and allow dolphin trainers to choose the choice dolphins that would make the best entertainers. They then take the rest of the dolphins into the cove (hence, the title) and ruthlessly slaughter them in a very non-humane way. The dolphins are butchered for their meat which is sold as other types of meat. Psihoyos, O'Barry and a team of secret ops capture the gruesome slaughter on film and believe me, it is very hard to watch.

Here are the major issues highlighted in this film. Killing and capturing thousands of dolphins every year upsets the ocean's ecosystems. The depletion of dolphins upsets the food chain and it is extremely difficult to restore.
There are public health implications as well because dolphin meat is very high in mercury. The higher up on the food chain an animal is the higher the concentration of mercury in their meat. In Taiji the meat is a whopping 2000 ppm (parts per million) and the acceptable level is .04 ppm. That's quite a difference. Mercury poisoning from fish can lead to severe neurological disorders in developing fetuses and young children. See Minamata Disease. Dolphin meat was being consumed in Taiji schools and many people fear a repeat of Minamata.
I am somewhat familiar with the International Whaling Commission from watching Whale Wars. It doesn't seem like their rules and regulations are enforced too strongly. The IWC limits how many whales and other cetaceans can be killed in a year. The Japanese Whaling Commission justifies their many killings by calling it research and also using the lamest excuse ever- the dolphins and whales are eating the fish supply that the Japanese people depend on.
All of my ramblings are just a way to tell you to go see the movie and help save the world's dolphins!

The Scoop on Pig Poop

2009-08-12T23:11:00.005-04:00

Can you tell that I am very passionate about factory farming issues? As a final paper in school I profiled Smithfield Foods and their hog operations in North Carolina. Iowa is the largest hog producing state followed closely by North Carolina. However, there are factory farms distributed throughout the country (even NY!) Check out this map to see the distribution of farms.
There are many environmental issues that arise from factory farming. These farms produce massive amounts of manure, which isn't usually only manure. Many things can be found in the "manure", such as antibiotics and dead pigs. It is stored in lagoons that are now required to have polyethylene liners. However, these lagoons leak and become flooded during storms. To lower the lagoon levels, many farmers will spray the manure on adjacent fields as "fertilizer". I am no farmer, but I am pretty sure raw sewage does not a fertilizer make. It needs to be treated and manufactured into a usable fertilizer. Additionally, the adjacent fields are usually fallow, so they just become manure fields. As a result of these poor practices, many of the local groundwater supplies and rivers become contaminated by the toxic runoff. In 1991, ONE BILLION fish were killed in the Neuse River in North Carolina, by pfiesteria, an organism that feeds off nitrogen and phosphorous found in manure.

Apparently, manure spraying is not the only crop and water contaminant. Ethicurean has run a short story about the use of untreated wastewater from fruit and vegetable processing. Who knew?

Your Handy Dandy Guide to Environmental Acronyms

2009-08-10T11:35:00.006-04:00

Us science nerds are very fond of acronyms. It saves time when writing intricate science documents but it creates a problem for laymen who want to brush up on the latest environmental issues. I have created a handy little list to help you navigate a typical environmental science document. (props to me because I didn't have to look any of these up!) If you have any you would like to add please feel free to share them!

BPA= Bisphenol A
PAH= Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons
PCB= Polychlorinate Biphenyls
CEQ= Council on Environmental Quality
EPA= Environmental Protection Agency
NEPA= National Environmental Policy Act
EIS= Environmental Impact Statement
CERCLA= Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund)
RCRA= Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
CAA= Clean Air Act
SDWA= Safe Drinking Water Act
FIFRA= Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act
NAAQS= National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NRDC= Natural Resources Defense Council
EDF= Environmental Defense Fund
EJ= Environmental Justice
MCL= Maximum Contaminant Levels
DBP= Disinfectant By-products
CDC= Centers for Disease Control
FDA= Food and Drug Administration
WHO= World Health Organization
PM10/PM2.5= Particulate Matter 10(micrometers)/ Particulate Matter 2.5(micrometers)
Nox= Nitrous Oxides
Sox= Sulfur Oxides
GHG= Greenhouse Gases
VOC= Volatile Organic Compounds
RfD= Reference Dose
GMO= genetically modified organism
CO= Carbon monoxide

What obesity is costing Americans - new report from CDC

2009-08-07T13:23:00.003-04:00

A study released last week from the CDC finds that the annual medical costs of obesity now reach $147 billion!!! Not only do these costs represent over 9 percent of total US medical costs, but this share has been rapidly increasing. The study shows that obese people, on average, spent 42 percent more for medical care than people within a healthy weight category. And these are just the medical costs - not captured in the study are potential losses in quality of life and productivity attributable to obesity. Numerous studies have identified income as a key risk factor for obesity, especially among children, and the costs outlined in this report emphasize the ways in which poverty and obesity may be locked in a cycle of negative synergy.

CDC has recommended community strategies to prevent obesity in a separate MMRW report also released in late July. Highlighted strategies include availability of nutritious foods and building walkability in urban design, particularly for school-age children. Programs at the NYC Dept. of Health and PlaNYC have us on the right track, but clearly the impacts of this epidemic are widespread and the disparities it exacerbates will have myriad consequences.

For more analysis, see an interview with former FDA Commissioner David Kessler on the CDC report and his book "The End of Overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite," which looks at the food industry's manipulation of eating habits and desires through both advertising and chemistry.

More statistics and national trends of obesity and overweight from CDC highlight research, data and prevention programs.

Burning Questions

2009-08-05T21:14:00.003-04:00

I know many of you have sat around on a Sunday afternoon with nothing to do. You flip through your tv channels and nothing catches your interest. You try to read the paper again, but it's the same stories as the morning. Here is the answer to your Sunday doldrums.
The EPA homepage features a fun little quiz called EnviroQ. According to the website it "highlights important environmental issues and helpful information that everyone can use."
So, get cracking and learn how scrap tires can save the environment.

Co-Op City

2009-07-29T14:05:00.006-04:00

I'm not going to pretend to know everything there is to know about "borehole thermal energy storage", but I have to say, at first glance, I am really in love with this idea. Buying cooperatives and collective bargaining are discussed in all sorts of policy circles (health insurance being a popular recent example), but it seems like they are a particularly good fit here. By reducing the up-front costs, the return on investment for the infrastructure becomes that much shorter. I'm also guessing that there is an increase in efficiency in terms of overall power generation per cell when a whole neighborhood's worth of panels are operating in circuit, thus providing more bang for the buck in terms of reduced utility bills. And just think of the added resale value.

With so many buildings already managed as co-ops, how do we get this off the ground in NYC and start selling some juice back to ConEd?

I ♥ NY Water

2009-07-26T16:15:00.006-04:00

The New York City water system in a word is AMAZING. It serves 1 billion gallons of water to over 8 million residents on a daily basis. Just take a minute and let those numbers process in your brain. If you can't, let me help you. It's a lot!
There are 2 major watersheds that provide clean drinking water to New York City. First is the Catskills/Delaware Watershed (known in the biz as the CatDel system) and the Croton Watershed. The CatDel water is brought to the city by two main aqueducts- the Catskill Aqueduct and the Delaware Aqueduct. The Croton Watershed is closer to the city and has a shorter distance to travel. It is brought in by the New Croton Aqueduct.

What I find most amazing about the system is that it was constructed in stages beginning in 1905. The engineers had the foresight to create such an advanced system that uses gravity to bring water from the Catskills to NYC through the Catskill Aqueduct. The water in the Catskill Aqueduct travels at about 4 feet/second, all propelled by gravity!

New York City is unique also because they have been granted a Filtration Avoidance Determination (FAD) that allows them to not filter their water. Under the EPA Surface Water Treatment Rule a system can only be granted a FAD if they meet source water quality limits for coliform and turbidity also meet coliform and total trihalomethane MCL's (maximum contaminant levels). Trihalomethane is a disinfectant byproduct (DBP) from the chlorination process. The CatDel system has a FAD in place but the Croton system is now required to filter their water. A new innovative UV filtration plant is being installed. It will filter up to a quarter of the New York City water supply. The plant will be able to filter 20 million gallons a day. This plant is expected to be up and running by 2012.
To read more about the intricacies of the NYC water system click here to visit the DEP website.

Where to Draw the Line?

2009-07-24T16:06:00.010-04:00

Risk assessment is an inexact science. In fact, let's just go ahead and call it an art. Or maybe it would be more accurate to describe it as a knock-down, drag-out, bare-knuckled brawl between government and industry. Because without a formula to dictate when a state or the feds should step in and declare that something is or is not a carcinogen, that is exactly where we end up. Take styrene for instance.

Polystyrene is one of the oldest "commodity plastics" around, found in everything from beverage cups to bike helmets. Now, citing evidence from its Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, California is invoking the precautionary principle, and is planning to declare styrene - the raw material monomer of the polystyrene molecule - a carcinogen. As you may have heard, the plastics industry has taken its share of lumps lately (see: "Phtheory on Phthalates" below...) and they are none too happy that a mainstay of theirs is about to be labeled as a dangerous, cancer-causing chemical. They fear that consumers will not understand the difference between the occupational risks of styrene exposure in a manufacturing setting, versus those posed by consumer products.

It's anyone's guess where the California Supreme Court will go with this. They could invoke an injunction preventing the OEHHA from making their declaration, or allow it to go forward. Whatever the outcome, each side will cite reams of epidemiological and experimental data in their support, while furiously poking holes in each others' studies.

Without having read all of said evidence, it's difficult to guess who has the stronger leg to stand on. However, there is alot to be said in favor of the precautionary principle. After all, sometimes the weight of evidence is strong enough to take action, even if some questions remain. This may be the case with styrene and this is certainly the approach being taken by European governments under the REACH program. Oh, and don't be surprised when we see similar legislation about BPA and phthalates, too. Sorry, plastic.

I think honey is the bees' knees!

2009-07-22T13:53:00.007-04:00

Today I stumbled across this article from March. Frankly, I am surprised this is the first I am hearing about it. Apparently, in addition to growing their own organic garden the Obamas are also harvesting their own honey from a hive of honeybees. Not only am I a big fan of honey (tastewise), but I think this is important because the world's honeybee population is inexplicably disappearing. I wish the Obamas' initiative was more publicized in order to bring more attention to this baffling problem. The disappearance of the honeybee is alarming because it is confounding scientists and also because they are excellent pollinators and many crops depend on them for survival. Click here to read an article from the New York Times about the disappearance of honeybees. Even Haagen-Dazs ice cream has started a "Help the Honey Bees" campaign. Their products are at risk without the world's best pollinators.

On a honeybee sidenote, there is a honey purveyor who sells his honey, produced right here in NYC, at farmers' markets around the city. He has also started an amazing non-profit called Bees Without Borders. This organization teaches beekeeping to people in impoverished countries so that they can become beekeepers and sell the honey for a profit. Honey is a better commodity than crops because it doesn't spoil. In a word, genius!

PlaNYC is a Little Hungry: Enter FoodPrintNYC

2009-07-21T16:30:00.005-04:00

Spoiler alert: this luddite has figured out how to link to things and I'm gonna pull out all (ok, some of) the stops people.

Mayor Bloomberg's PlaNYC, which calls for reduced carbon emissions in the next few decades, is missing an important slice of the proverbial pie: FOOD. A recent resolution proposed by NYC Council Member Bill DeBlasio and supported by Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer and many of the city's food advocates seeks to add the carbon footprint of our food system to the list of fronts on which NYC should fight the good fight against climate change.

Kerry Trueman wrote about FoodPrintNYC and the importance of supporting this initiative on the Huffington Post today. Not only does she clearly outline the need to examine NYC's food system in the name of environmental sustainability as well as food justice, but she's friggin' funny! Read her post here. And, New Yorkers, do yourself a favor: buy a local peach this week. I defy you to eat that thing without dribbling.

If you like what you read in Sunday's Magazine...

2009-07-21T16:28:00.005-04:00

Peter Singer's article in this Sunday's Times Magazine - Why We Must Ration Health Care - spelled out the economics and history of our insurance morass in under a dozen pages what I only kinda got in a semester's worth of Health Econ 101. As a plus, Singer trades the economists' frustrating unwillingness to address morality for a healthy dose of utilitarianism, plainly pointing out the inconsistencies in the ways we will and won't talk about the $$$ value of life.

If you like what you read, here are some more writings by Singer on animal welfare, global poverty and more.

Enjoy,
Jessie

How does your garden grow?

2009-07-17T17:36:00.008-04:00

As students of both public health and the environment we like to practice what we preach. So the 4 of us are sharing a rooftop garden (more like a bin) this summer. I went today to pluck some of our bounty and I bring you these lush pictures.

As you can see we are growing basil, mint, lemon thyme, three types of chard and cherry tomatoes. So far, the mint has proven to be the most prolific.

The Phtheory on Phthalates

2009-07-16T23:47:00.003-04:00

Click here to check out Nicholas Kristof's op-ed piece today.
It is an interesting discussion on phthalates and their effects as endocrine disruptors.
We want to hear your opinions on the phthalate debate.

Public Public Health Data

2009-07-15T22:12:00.004-04:00

The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene has launched the Environmental Public Health Tracking Portal, giving the public user-friendly and transparent tools to explore the exposure and health outcome data that describe us (with no unique identifiers, of course). A 2001 report from the Pew Environmental Health Commission identified the lack of a linked, nationwide tracking system for environmental exposures and potentially related health outcomes as a barrier to closing important gaps in environmental health. As a result, the CDC has funded NYC and 16 states (including NY) through their national tracking program to create public data portals that draw together myriad data sets describing four core areas.

The Portal allows users to create charts, maps, reports and tables, follow trends across time, and explore relationships between exposures and outcomes. There is even a specific function to look at disparities between neighborhoods and income levels throughout the city, and data are comparable with the national and state portals.

It is a work in progress, but we can no longer feel adrift in a dearth of environmental data. And we will no longer have to shirk in fear of being asked to back up our policy recommendations with reliable (and awesome) data graphics. Rock on, DOHMH.

Jessie

Diesel Day Camp

2009-07-15T16:30:00.009-04:00

A category of air pollution all its own, particulate matter, or PM, is among the most damaging things a person can inhale. The smaller the PM, the greater its ability to lodge deep in the most sensitive parts of the lung, where it can inflict maximum damage. The most dangerous PM are those bits less than 10 microns in diameter, known as PM10, and worse yet, those under 2.5 microns, known as PM2.5 - exactly the type of particles produced as a byproduct of diesel exhuast. The list of consequences as a result of severe acute and chronic exposure to PM is long - including increased mortality from cardiovascular diseases and lung cancer, and impaired pulmonary function and development. It is these developmental effects that are particularly troubling in light of a proposed warehouse construction project in Mansfield, NJ.

The developers behind the proposed Margolis Warehouse Distribution Facility - effectively a 200 acre campus of loading docks and idling zones in Mansfield Township NJ - claim that they have "no intention of trying to hurt anybody" despite the fact that the proposed site would be moving in next door to...wait for it...Liberty Lake Day Camp, a summer getaway for 600 4-to-14 year olds.

What we are left with then, is a classic environmental health policy quandary, pitting developmental and economic interests against those trying to protect public health. There are sticky questions of zoning involved as well, which even the owners of Liberty Lake acknowledge may mean that the eventual siting of a warehouse was always an inevitability. Maybe the better question then is why the camp was built within coughing distance of the NJ Turnpike in the first place...still, that's no reason to make a less than ideal situation that much worse. Won't someone think of the children?!?!?

Corporate Responsibility: Just Do It!

2009-07-13T11:34:00.000-04:00

This weekend someone brought to my attention a new innovative idea involving multi-billion dollar corporations. It is called BICEP, Business for Innovative Climate and Energy Policy. The founding members of this venture are Levi Strauss & Co., Nike, Starbucks, Sun Microsystems and Timberland. Most of the founding members and other members are all companies that are usually singled out for corporate greed and corporate irresponsibility. So, it made me very pleased to see that they are taking a real interest in their role in climate change and sustainability instead of just switching the plastic cups to paper in their coffee break room. On their website they recognize that most of the involved companies are not the biggest emitters but they do acknowledge that every company will be affected by climate change. Therefore, everyone has a responsibility to help reverse the effects.
I don't necessarily agree with all their principles, particularly cap and trade. However, it is definitely a step in the right direction and an example for all corporations.

by: Simona (Blogger 2)

Waxman-Markey-Madoff?

2009-07-10T10:03:00.000-04:00

Dr. James Hansen, Director of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, is none too pleased with the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009. On The Huffington Post yesterday, he wrote:

"For all its 'green' aura, Waxman-Markey locks in fossil fuel business-as-usual and garlands it with a Ponzi-like 'cap-and-trade' scheme."

Read the full post here to experience the full extent of Dr. Hansen's displeasure and disagreement with the Waxman-Markey bill, which he also refers to as a "monstrous absurdity hatched in Washington after energetic insemination by special interests." Ouch.

Fiery rhetoric to be sure, but with good reason: this guy knows his climate science. A better way to stabilize levels of CO2 in the atmosphere, according to Hansen, is a carbon fee-and-dividend approach.

posted by: crw

Worst. Term. Ever.

2009-07-09T11:35:00.000-04:00

Uh Oh. It's been approximately 170 days since W left town, and while he will never be known as an "environmental president," perhaps we are only now starting to feel the effects of his legacy. Last week the US Supreme Court, led by Bush appointees Chief Justice John G. Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito, closed out what has been described by the Georgetown University Law Center as the "worst term ever" for environmental causes . Environmentalists were dealt no fewer than 5 major losses during the term: continuation of US Navy sonar exercises in whale habitat off the coast of California; corporate liability limitation for toxic spill remediation; protection of US Forest Service rule-making; easing of Alaskan mine waste dumping restrictions (as if mining didn't already generate enough waste....); and the allowance of cost-benefit analysis by nuclear energy facilities to determine how much marine life can be killed by cooling infrastructure. Each of these cases reversed federal appeals court decisions, and each has potentially important implications for public health.

Unfortunately, the appointment of a new Justice to fill the void left by the retirement of Justice Souter is unlikely to have much of an effect on future environmental cases heard before the Court. An Obama appointment - Sonia Sotomayor or otherwise - would have likely replaced Souter's dissent in each of the above cases, not swung any of the affirmations away from the conservative bloc.

For the conceivable future before this Court, it's probably straight back to the drawing board for plaintiff's attorney's, environmentalists and public health advocates.

Posted by - CMP

Fed Up with Factory Farming

2009-07-08T12:06:00.000-04:00

If you haven’t seen Food Inc. yet- run, don’t walk to go see it! This film explores not just the “disgusting” factor of agribusiness but all the other more sinister sides to it as well. Factory farming deals in illegal immigration, bullying, scare tactics, and major public health issues.

I don’t want to ruin the movie for you but there were two parts that I found especially heinous. The first was the segment about the company that “washes” their meat. In order to kill all deadly bacteria the meat is put through a giant washing machine-like apparatus that washes the meat with ammonia. Now I ask you, when you go to the Piggly Wiggly and buy a package of meat is ammonia on the ingredient list? I think not. According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry the health effects of ammonia are manifold. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/mhmi/mmg126.html

The second part that really got my goat was the segment about Monsanto and their “witch hunt” against farmers who clean their seeds to replant again the next year. A recent law allows a company to patent their genetically modified organisms (GMO). GMO’s can be created to withstand inclement weather, certain pesticides and also certain pests. Farmers are required to get these seeds straight from the company every year and cannot replant from year to year. I am not entirely opposed to GMO’s. I think in places that face severe famine GMO’s would be the answer to their prayers. I am however, opposed to granting patents to the companies that create these GMO’s. These companies can sue anyone that may even have one seedling on their farm that perhaps migrated by wind or animal. As shown in the film, Monsanto goes after these little farmers and causes them so much legal trouble that these farmers have no choice but to settle and perhaps lose their farms. This is only one of the many reasons that family farms just cannot be successful in the United States. The government, with their subsidies and now with the patent laws in favor of big corporations just make it so inhospitable for small family (mostly organic) farms.

These are just some of the issues discussed in the movie. This little “review” doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of all the issues the US currently faces in regards to factory farming.

by: Simona- Blogger 2

Welcome to the blog

2009-07-03T17:12:00.000-04:00

Hello Readers. Welcome to our blog.
We will be providing you with news stories, opinions and musings about environmental issues and how they pertain to public health. We welcome comments and ideas and we look forward to having discussions with our readers. So please enjoy and forward to your friends.