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Minneapolis -- The 2008 Farm Bill coming to the House and Senate floor this week includes incremental gains for conservation, renewable energy, food aid and healthier local food systems.
Governor Tim Pawlenty says a lack of scientific evidence is behind his latest veto.
The governor turned back legislation that would have banned the sale of two chemicals: the fire retardant DECA, and phthalates, a plasticizer used to soften vinyl.
In our continuing series, "Food Fight," we look at the profitable side of the global food crisis. Sarah Gardner reports on the big agribusiness firms that are breaking earnings records as everything from grains to soybeans skyrockets.
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KAI RYSSDAL: Today on Food Fight, our series looking at the global food crisis, the profitable side of rising commodity prices.
What: Conference on "Green Chemistry in Minnesota" When: 8:30 a.m.- 5 p.m. Wednesday, May 28 Where: U of M Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, 301 19th Ave. S., Minneapolis Contacts: Jamie Proulx, Humphrey Institute, (612) 625-9436 Ryan Mathre, University News Service, (612) 625-0552 MINNEAPOLIS / ST.
WATER COMPANY WINS $49.7 MILLION IN SETTLEMENT
A San Jose-based water company will receive $49.7 million as part of a national deal to settle a lawsuit with oil companies over water contamination from the gasoline additive MTBE.
SAN FRANCISCO, California, May 9, 2008 (ENS) - Improving the security of U.S. drinking water systems has gathered urgency since the terrorist attacks of 9/11. Today, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an $8 million grant to San Francisco to help the city develop and evaluate a contamination warning system for its drinking water supply.
India, the world's fourth-largest emitter of carbon dioxide, plans to spend 100 billion rupees ($2.4 billion) on rejuvenating three million hectares of degraded forests to increase the green cover and soak up emissions.
Grist (Environmental News & Commentary), May 22, 2008
UC Berkeley experts investigating why millions of trees in California have fallen victim to sudden oak death have figured out where the infestation began: Mount Tamalpais and Santa Cruz.
Scientists also now think the killer organism, which they suspect rode in on nonnative nursery plants, eventually was carried by humans to the two ground zero zones.
As we get down to the wire at the capitol, we want to make sure that the Governor is hearing from his constituents about the importance of signing our bills.
We have two call to actions:
First,
Please call The Governor?s office and ask for his support for both:
1.The Safe Baby Products Bill which would phase out phthalates from children's products
When researchers at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine conducted their groundbreaking 'biomonitoring' study to determine human exposure to synthetic chemicals, the results were alarming. The nine otherwise healthy individuals they tested carried an average of 91 industrial compounds and other pollutants inside their bodies.
Last month, within a day of each other, Wal-Mart promised to stop carrying baby bottles with bisphenol-A (BPA) -- a toxic chemical that has received recent attention -- and Nalgene announced it will stop making its signature water bottles from the unsafe plastic.
BRUSSELS, - The food price crisis is caused largely by greed and speculation rather than food shortages, the head of Southern Africa's development bank said on Tuesday.
A startling fact: About 70 percent of antibiotics used in the United States are put in livestock feed to promote growth and prevent disease in chickens, pigs and cattle.
Of all the things to worry about in a glass of tap water -- rust from old pipes, giardia and that strange, recurring mossy taste -- perhaps the last thing that comes to mind is the possibility of rocket fuel and aircraft-engine cleanser. Yet America's commitment to flight, space exploration and intercontinental missilery has had a trickle-down effect.
A new report, of no small signifi cance to Pennsylvania, says so- called factory farms take a big toll on human health and the environment, undermine rural economies and keep livestock in inhumane conditions.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Factory farms are too crowded and risk spreading disease within livestock and to humans, but should be revamped and not abolished because of the need to feed the world, according to a report from the Pew Charitable Trusts released on Tuesday.
This paper examines the flexibility in national policy design that would be required to sustain domestic production necessary to address non-trade concerns (NTCs).