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Councilman to propose gas drilling ban in city; Ravenstahl opposes idea

Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields today plans to unveil legislation to ban natural gas drilling in the city, saying he’s wants to test a municipality’s right to self-government, even if that means inviting a legal challenge from the drilling industry.
“Why can’t we say no? Why is it that local authorities, the local government, can’t make [...]

Protect nature for world economic security

Britain and other countries face a collapse of their economies and loss of culture if they do not protect the environment better, the world’s leading champion of nature has warned.
“What we are seeing today is a total disaster,” said Ahmed Djoghlaf, the secretary-general of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. “No country has met its [...]

Obama says clean energy will reverse years of job losses

President Barack Obama, embarking on a three-day tour to raise money for Democrats, said Monday that a rising homegrown clean energy industry can help reverse years of manufacturing job losses overseas and help heal a still-ailing economy.
“We can’t turn back, we’ve got keep going forward,” Obama told a group of workers at the ZBB Energy [...]

Much Oil Remains in Gulf, Researchers Estimate – WSJ.com

Researchers at the University of Georgia said Monday that more than three-quarters of the oil spilled in the Gulf of Mexico following the Deepwater Horizon drilling-rig explosion could still be in the Gulf threatening fisheries and marine life, disputing government statements that much of the oil had been safely dispersed.
The federal National Incident Command, which [...]

Charles Harvey: Water Detective

Charles Harvey traces the source of widespread arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh, setting the stage for programs that could benefit 20 million people.
Millions of people in developing countries drink groundwater contaminated with much higher levels of arsenic than the old U.S. standard, every day…Cruelly, Bangladeshis were getting sick because they followed the advice of [...]

Climate Change Disasters: Are These Events Of ‘Global Weirding’ Related To Global Warming?

From raging heat waves and wildfires to massive floods and building-swallowing sinkholes, 2010 is quickly becoming known as the year of “global weirding.”
While scientists generally agree that no single event can specifically be tied to the increase of emissions in the atmosphere, it's hard to deny that changes are quickly happening on our planet, whether [...]

Moose Offer Trail of Clues on Arthritis

Many of the moose, it turns out, have arthritis. And scientists believe their condition’s origin can help explain human osteoarthritis — by far the most common type of arthritis, affecting one of every seven adults 25 and older and becoming increasingly prevalent.
The arthritic Bullwinkles got that way because of poor nutrition early in life, an [...]

Study: Gulf oil spill still a threat to seafood safety

The Gulf of Mexico oil spill still poses threats to human health and seafood safety, according to a study published Monday by the peer-reviewed Journal of the American Medical Association.
Federal officials disputed the new report and said ongoing testing is aggressive and sufficient to protect public health.
In the short term, study co-author Gina Solomon voiced [...]

Old-style coal plants expanding – San Jose Mercury News

Utilities across the country are building dozens of old-style coal plants that will cement the industry’s standing as the largest industrial source of climate-changing gases for years to come.
The construction wave stretches from Arizona to Illinois and South Carolina to Washington, and comes despite growing public wariness over the high environmental and [...]

Environment Friendly packaging | Eco Friendly Products | Plastic Harmful Effects

Household goods, beauty and grooming product supplier Procter and Gamble (P&G), announced on August 12 the launch of new environmentally friendly packaging for its Pantene Pro V, Covergirl and Max Factor Brands.
The new environmentally friendly packaging is made from sugarcane-derived plastic, which is a renewable source unlike traditional plastic which is made from non renewable [...]

S.F. shares city-OKd green products on website

Consumers and businesses wary of toxics and eco-unfriendly chemicals have new places to research cleaning, cosmetics, automotive, food storage and other products.
San Francisco’s Environment Department on Monday powered up a website that offers guidelines on everything from hand sanitizers and auto antifreeze to light bulbs and garden hoses.
The site, SFApproved.org, was originally designed for the [...]

Gasland at Civic Media Center

Looking for something to do tonight? Check out the trailer below:

Gasland: “Halliburton has developed a way to get more natural gas out of the ground—a hydraulic drilling process called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” for short. Energy companies across rural America are attempting to lease property from residents in order to drill for natural gas.

Filmmaker Josh [...]

Weekend Without Oil: Youth Group Finds Allies to Avoid Petroleum Consumption on August 21-22

Weekend Without Oil www.weekendwithoutoil.org is asking Americans to spend the weekend of August 21-22 oil-free. The initiative’s goal is two-fold: to spread the message of how much oil is used in everyday products, and to get at least 166,000 people to join the campaign by committing to 11 actions. Those 11 actions include walking or [...]

President’s Cancer Panel: Environmentally caused cancers are ‘grossly underestimated’ and ‘needlessly devastate American lives.’ — Environmental Health News

Thanks to GGN correspondent Terri Hansen for passing this along:
“The President’s Cancer Panel on Thursday reported that “the true burden of environmentally induced cancers has been grossly underestimated” and strongly urged action to reduce people’s widespread exposure to carcinogens.
The panel advised President Obama ”to use the power of your office to remove the [...]

Free Yoga Meditation: Nia

Nia Master Class at GHFC in Thornbrook on Thursday evening, September 2, from 7:30 - 8:30!  Finally, Nia is coming to Gainesville!!  The cost is free to members, and $10.00 to non-members.  Then, I will be teaching an 8 week Nia session there from September 23 – November 11……each Thursday evening from 7:30 [...]

Biomass plant propaganda misleads

Biomass incinerators are rarely, if ever, factually represented by the many sales pitches we see issued by the energy industry sector that promotes them. In fact, the marketing language that has now become de rigueur is reminiscent of George Orwell’s 1984. “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”
To the point, biomass incineration is [...]

Inside the Minds of Animals – Teddi’s Tails >> Justice

Humans have a fraught relationship with beasts. They are our companions and our laborers. We love them and cage them, admire them and abuse them. And, of course, we cook and eat them. Our dodge has always been that animals are ours to do with as we please simply because they don’t suffer the way [...]

Dog boiled alive after jumping into mint farm discharge

A yellow labrador was boiled alive after jumping into a ditch with scalding-hot water from an illegal water discharge.
The dog’s owner sustained third-degree burns on his lower leg when he tried to save the dog. The mint farm responsible faces fines, but continued its deadly discharge Friday — nearly a week later — with the [...]

Water Footprint Calculator – National Geographic

Join our Conservation Challenge!
What Is Your Water Footprint?
Take a water tour with [The Green Guide] through your home, garden, diet, energy use, and your stuff! Then, pledge to cut your water footprint by 20%.
via Water Footprint Calculator – National Geographic.

Judge Revokes U.S.D.A. Approval of Modified Sugar Beets – NYTimes.com

A federal district court judge revoked the government’s approval of genetically engineered sugar beets Friday, saying that the Agriculture Department had not adequately assessed the environmental consequences before approving them for commercial cultivation.
The decision, by Judge Jeffrey S. White of Federal District Court in San Francisco, appears to effectively ban the planting of [...]