Washington, D.C.-(ENEWSPF)- (Beyond Pesticides, September 15, 2011) Bowing to pressure from the chemical industry, the administration of President Barack Obama recently blocked a new and desperately needed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) review of chemical health hazards which was developed under the agency’s Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS), according to Daniel[Read More…]

  NEW YORK–(ENEWSPF)–16 September 2011,  Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on the international community today not to replace ozone-depleting gases that are now being phased out with highly potent global warming substitutes. “Only by limiting global climate change can we hope to achieve sustainable development for all,” he said in a message[Read More…]

MAINE–(ENEWSPF)–September 15, 2011.   The date snuck up on me, but before it creeps away too far, I wanted to send along a shout out to LawnReform.org, the coalition of national garden writers dedicated to toxic pesticide reduction and resource management on the lawn. The two-year anniversary of the first[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 15, 2011.  Today, in a report to Congress, the President concurred with the Secretary of Commerce’s recommendations and directed federal agencies to take actions to encourage Iceland to change its whaling policy. In July, then-Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke, in line with requirements under the Pelly Amendment of[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 15, 2011. Global surface temperature Anomalies – August 2011. High Resolution (Credit: NOAA) The globe had its eighth warmest August since record keeping began in 1880, while June through August was the seventh warmest such period on record. The Arctic sea ice extent was the second smallest for August[Read More…]

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.–(ENEWSPF)–September 15, 2011.  Home prices in many of the world’s most famous cities run to well over $1,000 per square foot. By contrast, MIT architects have produced a decidedly more affordable alternative: the first prototype from the Institute’s “1K House”project, an effort to see if low-cost homes for the[Read More…]

EU–(ENEWSPF)–15 September 2011.   Envisat image of the Arctic A new record low could soon be set for ice in the Arctic. The past five years have seen the lowest extent of sea ice since satellite measurements began in the 1970s.  Earth observing satellites make it possible to measure the[Read More…]

MAINE–(ENEWSPF)–September 14, 2011. Safe? This applicator is wearing rubber gloves and boots, but no respirator. Three major scientific groups concerned with the control of insects and disease are expressing their collective concern that the federal government is turning its back to pesticide safety education. Whereas approximately $2 million was appropriated[Read More…]

Washington, DC–(ENEWSPF)–September 14, 2011.  A ruling last week by the European Court of Justice states that honey produced though cross-pollination with a genetically modified (GM) crop must be authorized as a GM product before being sold. The ruling means that the European Union (EU) will have to ban imported honey[Read More…]

    (Credit: Bill Stripling) Prothonotary Warbler Livingston Parish, La.–(ENEWSPF)–September 13, 2011.  The Land Trust for Southeast Louisiana (LTSL), The Conservation Fundand the National Audubon Society announced the permanent protection of 675 acres of diverse wetland habitat near the town of Maurepas, La. This acquisition will enhance an ongoing, multi-partner[Read More…]