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WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. House of Representatives approved the conference report for the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of
2008, a groundbreaking bill that invests in improved nutrition, conservation, renewable energy and farm programs and includes
significant reforms.
Domestic nutrition programs make up the largest portion of the estimated $300 billion farm bill. Crop subsidies make up roughly 14 percent, foreign food aid less than one percent.
A breakdown of the bill:
Food stamps and other domestic nutrition programs such as emergency food assistance: just over 66 percent, about $200 billion.
The House has passed a $290 billion farm bill with a strong veto-proof majority. The legislation includes more subsidies for farmers, food stamps for the poor and special projects that lawmakers can bring home to voters this election year.
Final Vote - HouseConference Report on 2008 Farm Bill
May 14, 2008
Yes 318
No 106
In the wake of costly litigation, product sales bans, and reputational damage arising from asbestos, toxic materials in cosmetics and toys, and Teflon-related chemicals, U.S. investors are becoming increasingly wary of toxic chemical risks - in products, in supply chains, and in their own portfolios.
Terry Collins sounds like the world's most dour pessimist. The Carnegie Mellon University chemistry professor paints a bleak picture of the Earth's future, a planet damaged by global warming and ravaged by toxins, with a population sickened by poisonous chemicals.
When it comes to ecological diversity, California has it all: snow-capped mountains, wide deserts, scenic beaches, and some of the worst environmental problems in the country.
You can't do green design without green materials, and material innovations tend to come from chemists. Chemists also produce many products in their own right: paints, adhesives, cleaning products, whole industries. So what are chemists doing to save the world?
DOW CHEMICAL AND BASF, the world's two largest chemical companies, have separately agreed to fund groundbreaking academic research initiatives at two of the most prestigious U.S. universities. One of the partnerships, Dow's sustainability program at the University of California, Berkeley, is raising serious concerns among academics.
Universities obtain funding from a variety of sources to support scientific research. Government is the largest benefactor, but endowments, foundation grants, gifts from wealthy individuals, and alumni donations all can influence research projects. And then there is the matter of support from private industry.
Holiday shoppers this season may still worry if the toys they buy contain lead after more than 10 million childrens products were recalled this year for that reason.
But some scientists are urging consumers to focus on a different problem: the lack of hazard information on the thousands of chemicals in everyday products.
California needs to overhaul its regulation of commercial substances and foster a sustainable chemicals sector, says a report released last week by University of California researchers.
OMAHA -- Nebraska state warehouse officials continue to comb through the aftermath of the closure and bankruptcy last month of the Alvo Grain and Feed elevators in Alvo and Ashland.
Two recent reports target the cost of factory farming. The Pew Charitable Trusts and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health have concluded a two-and-a-half-year analysis that calls for a major change in the way corporate agriculture produces meat, milk and eggs.
The recent media reports surrounding antibiotic-resistant disease all suggested a common-sense recommendation: Healthy humans should not take antibiotics.
My former boss in D.C. once said that if she ever found herself on the same side of an issue as the Bush administration, it was time to go back and look more closely: There must be a hidden agenda. That was the thought that struck me as I contemplated the administration's farm bill veto threat on Friday.
The Government's law proposal on GM crops was rejected by the French Assembly. French PM Frans Fillon has appointed a commission of deputies and senators to find a consensus and put the proposal back on the table. (Analysis: D. Crossan)