On July 31, 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposal to ban residues from carbofuran, a toxic pesticide used in the production of many different crops, from our food and drinking water. The EPA found the chemical doesn’t meet safety standards of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and can cause serious problems to humans and the environment, especially to birds. The decision will likely require the complete discontinuation of the pesticide's use in agriculture.

However, the chemical’s manufacturer, FMC Corporation, stands in their way.

FMC Corporation is a manufacturer of insecticides, herbicides, harvest aids and fungicides (a full list of their products can be found here). Although the EPA originally announced its plan for cancellation of the product in 2006, the FMC has decided to take them to court in order to continue production of the insecticide.

According to the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), this is the first time in twenty years that a company has tried to fight a cancellation of a pesticide. And because of the chemical’s side effects, the only way they will win is if they can prove that their product meets the FFDCA safety regulations…which is highly unlikely. Not only does carbofuran cause dietary risks to humans, it is responsible for killing millions of birds, including bald and golden eagles, since it was first produced in 1967. An intentional misuse of the chemical killed 2,200 migratory birds in 2007, but according to the EPA, all uses of carbofuran (including legal ones) will kill wild birds. A documented list of bird poisoning incidents compiled by the ABC can be found here. Wildlife groups, such as the ABC and Defenders of Wildlife, along with many others, support the cancellation.

Please comment below on any experience you may have with the insecticide, or better yet, send your comments to FMC Corporation.

The Department of Homeland Security continues to build a 670-mile-long wall along the US-Mexico border to keep out illegal immigrants — even as environmentalists argue that the wall will endanger animals, divide Native American reservations and disturb wildlife refuges.

According to the New York Times, the number of known efforts made by illegal immigrants to cross the border have fallen 17 percent this year, after already declining 20 percent in 2007; but the government wants to keep that number dropping. The government argues that a wall is a vital part of the equation, though deterrents such as security cameras and an aggressive Border Patrol have been major contributors to this decline. While a wall can prevent many illegal immigrants from coming into the U.S., it can’t completely stop illegal immigration. But it will prevent wildlife from moving back and forth across certain habitats, reducing their chances of survival.

Three years ago the Supreme Court gave Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff the ability to veto anything that could prevent the wall from being completed, and that’s exactly what he’s been doing. As of June 13, 2008, 331 miles of fencing had already been erected, with another 339 to go.

Those 339 miles, running from the Colorado River to the New Mexico border, are the most critical. They cross a number of national parks and isolated lands that are crucial to the survival of much wildlife, including species native to only those areas. As the Supreme Court refuses to revoke Chertoff’s power or to hear any petition by Defenders of Wildlife or the Sierra Club, the construction will continue unhindered. To date, the Bush administration has cast aside 30 laws and regulations in order to finish construction of the wall by the end of 2008.

Words like “green”, “environmentally friendly”, “all natural” and “eco” have become common descriptions for what we’re all supposed to look for as consumers. But they don’t really mean anything. They’re as useless as describing a person, saying that they “have hair” or are “wearing a T-shirt.” These environmental descriptions need a definition, and that’s why Canada has made an effort to provide one.

The Competition Bureau and the Canadian Standards Association recently created Environmental Claims: A Guide for Industry and Advertisers to help improve accuracy for such claims in today’s business world. It says that environmental claims will soon need to meet the same requirements as advertising and labeling claims and are now subject to their same laws, such as the Competition Act, the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act and the Textile Labelling Act. The guide specifically addresses claims that say a product is “recyclable” and “biodegradable.” These claims will need to have supporting data that is “accurate and readily available to law enforcement agencies.” If they don’t, individuals or corporations can be fined or even serve prison time, depending on how severe the penalty.

The Bureau is allowing for a one-year transition period while companies re-work any needed advertising campaigns. At that time, Canadians will have to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to advertising “green” products. But they can look forward to a more “environmentally friendly” Canada.

It’s that time of year again. No, I’m not talking about back-to-school shopping or end-of-summer barbeques — I’m talking about the Perseid meteor shower. 

The show may begin for some late Monday evening, but in the early morning hours of Tuesday, August 12, you should be able to count as many as one to two “shooting stars” per minute. The shower gets its name from the constellation Perseus, which is the location from which the streaks of light will come. (Click here to learn how to find Perseus.) The meteors are actually pieces of dust from the debris trail of Comet Swift-Tuttle; as Earth passes through the trail, the particles disintegrate in our atmosphere. 

Click here to read more from NASA.

From the time I was a little girl, I can remember my mom instilling in me the importance of drinking milk. She made sure I drank it with every meal to ensure that I was getting enough calcium to keep my bones strong.

Once I moved out of the house and on to college, however, I drastically cut down on my milk intake and instead turned to the soda and pizza diet (accompanied by a lot of sitting around).

Three years later at a college health fair, I decided to check out my bone density for good measure. To my surprise, I had borderline osteopenia. Now, I’m still a bit fuzzy on what that means, but according to the pharmacy student who did the test, I was more likely to develop osteoporosis in the future since I had the bone density of a 60-year-old! This was not good news considering I had just turned 21.

Immediately, I went to the store and bought calcium supplements and tried to work more milk into my diet.

The fact is, there are many ways besides drinking milk to get enough calcium and strengthen bones. Read Dr. Linda B. White’s article What Every Woman Should Know About Osteoporosis for 7 easy tips to strengthen your bones. Plus check out one of our older articles, Reconsidering Calcium.

The marine life in the Gulf of Mexico is heading to a more oxygen-friendly vacation spot this summer because the Gulf’s dead zone is estimated to be the largest yet since records began back in 1985. 

R. Eugene Turner of LSU, along with other scientists from Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, estimate that this summer the dead zone will reach about 10,084 square miles (about the size of Massachusetts). The average size since 1990 has been about half that (approximately 6,046 square miles). A dead zone occurs when there is not enough oxygen in an area for any living organism to survive. In the Gulf’s case, the Mississippi River is to blame. 

At the end of each spring, high levels of nitrogen, phosphorous and other chemicals from fertilizers run off of farms and pour into the river. These fertilizers keep doing their job long after they leave the farm, and in the Gulf, they help the algae grow.  Once the algae die, however, the oxygen is sucked out of the area creating a dead zone.  The dead zone only lasts from the beginning of the summer thru early fall, but it affects every animal in or around the area.

Because the need for corn has increased, Midwestern farmers started growing more crops and, therefore, using more chemicals and fertilizers.  Those chemicals continue to pour into the Mississippi River at dangerous levels because of the heavy amounts of rain sweeping the Midwest, and as a result, the Dead Zone could be even larger than the already predicted 10,084 square miles. 

In an effort to revive the Gulf, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Gulf of Mexico Hypoxia Task Force released an action plan on June 16, 2008, after re-assessing the one made in 2001. The plan has eleven major actions that are made to help regulate and reduce the use of nitrogen and phosphorous on farms and help bring awareness to the issue.  However, the plan will only help the Gulf if we follow it; otherwise, the Gulf's animals may have to find a permanent residence elsewhere.

This Friday, 08-08-08, the Olympics will begin in Beijing, China, one of the Top 20 most polluted cities in the world. In fact, China houses 16 out of the 20. Twenty-five percent of the nation’s population drinks polluted water, one-third of it breathes extremely polluted air, and the country produces 6,200 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Because China is home to 1.3 billion people, it’s no wonder that the nation is this polluted. However, the most surprising statistic is that despite its pollution problems, China only produces about one-fourth of the emissions per person that the United States does. Since they’ve started preparing for the Olympic Games, China started setting goals for energy saving and emissions reduction. By the end of 2007, there were more than eight million bicycles in Beijing alone, compared to their 3.35 million cars. They’ve made significant changes in their air and water quality so that they could pass the Greenpeace standards for the Olympics. And maybe their changes will be significant enough to encourage other countries to clean up their acts…hmmm…like inspiring the United States to work on reducing greenhouse gas pollution. Give examples of the ways that you reduce your carbon footprint below.

Although we’ve all had our share of complaints about the gas prices in our country, this growing situation does seem to be getting out of hand. Only a few days ago, I filled up and the price was almost $60! I remember when I was in high school (I graduated in 2003); I could fill up the same car for around $20.

So it’s no surprise the question of offshore drilling in America has been introduced by the 2008 presidential candidates. While John McCain promotes it as something that will “rescue our family budgets,” Obama opposes it. One of his main reasons for opposing offshore drilling is because it will be at least a decade before we can produce usable oil. He also beleives offshore drilling is the wrong emphasis. The focus, in his eyes, should be on renewable energy. 

Even the Energy Information Administration (the energy analysis agency of the U.S. Department of Energy) says that 20 years from now, offshore drilling would produce less that 0.2 percent of world production.

While reading about this issue, I came upon a very interesting opinion piece from Mark Weisbrot, Co-Director and Co-founder of the Center for Economic Policy Research. To read it click here.

What do you think? Is offshore drilling a good idea? Let us know in the comments section below.