In The News / May 20

Despite health warnings, some who fish undeterred about eating their catch.

To scientists, routinely eating one’s catch is the health equivalent of smoking and sunbathing — an anachronistic practice to be discouraged. Yet on waterways around Philadelphia, the practice persists due to skepticism, generational and cultural differences, and, for poorer families, the lure of virtually free food.

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India's illegal sand mining fuels boom, ravages rivers.

India’s rivers and creeks continue to be ravaged for sand to fuel a boom in construction and a massive urban transition. The result, analysts warn, is an impending environmental disaster.

Sand is a natural aquifer, and ecologists say unauthorized sand mining reduces the recharge of rivers and has depleted the groundwater table in many areas. It also increases the risk of flooding and harms coastal farm soil by making it saline.

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New Science

Understand the latest scientific findings
  • BPA diminishes in vitro success. 16 May 2012

    Exposure to bisphenol A at levels commonly found in the general population may cut a woman's chance of getting pregnant if she is undergoing fertility treatment, a study from Harvard University finds. Women with higher levels of the chemical, widely used in food can linings and receipt paper, were less likely to get pregnant than women with lower levels. more…

  • Low-level cadmium exposure can increase female cancer risk. 14 May 2012

    Women exposed to low levels of cadmium in their food have changes in DNA markers that alter gene regulation and increase their cancer risk. This study for the first time suggests that cadmium may be turning genes on or off in a way that triggers disease. more…

Media Notes

Notable media news and reviews

Editorials

  • We need a war on lead poisoning.

    CDC's revised guidelines on the risks to children from exposure to lead show the need for greater public investment in remediation of older homes. A war on childhood lead poisoning is one we can win. We know how. All that is required is the will. more…

  • A viable clean-energy bill at last?

    If Republicans come to their senses on global warming, a clean electricity standard could hold the most political appeal of any big approach to carbon cutting. more…

Opinions

  • Are you safe on that sofa?

    Chances are that if you’re sitting on a couch right now, it contains flame retardants. This will probably do no good if your house catches fire — although it may release toxic smoke. There is growing concern that the chemicals are hazardous, with evidence mounting of links to cancer, fetal impairment and reproductive problems. more…

  • Potomac 'most endangered'? Just hype.

    Just because you’re promoting a worthy cause doesn’t justify distorting the truth. That’s a principle violated in Washington perhaps more than anywhere, and most recently in an attention-grabbing report by an environmentalist organization declaring the Potomac to be “America’s #1 Most Endangered River.” more…

More news from EHN From Environmental Health News

Coming Monday: Science education graduates.

The drive to improve climate science education in public schools – and the effort to add 'balance' to those lesson plans – is reshaping how science is taught in America. Starting Monday, a two-part DailyClimate.org series by reporter Lisa Palmer explores the leading edge of this changing landscape of science education.

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Rising coal exports have Montana rail communities braced for worst.

With Asia's energy demands pulling more U.S. coal to West Coast ports, rail-line communities across Montana fear the effects: More train traffic, health problems, noise and congestion.

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Professor McCarver's 'baseball bat' theory of climate change.

A Fox TV commentator, midgame, links global warming to home runs, and fans on all sides of the climate debate call foul.

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The Cook: A celebrated chef preaches sustainability.

Snakehead with a side of Kudzu? Washington, D.C.'s Barton Seaver is pushing boundaries in the kitchen, urging restaurants to use menu choice to help sustain diversity – and connect the dots – in a changing climate. A Climate Query.

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In The News (CONTINUED) / May 20

More news from today
>60 more stories today, including:
  • Delhi traffic cops to get anti-pollution masks
  • Climate: Vanishing Welsh sheep; Chemistry of climate change; Queensland has second thoughts about coal port expansion
  • Stories from UK, Tanzania, Japan, India, Australia
  • US stories from MA, NY, NJ, DE, WV, NC, WI, MI, KY, TX, WA, CA
  • Editorials: No easy answers to green energy; Europe's return to coal; American Rivers sounds the alarm on Chattahoochee