The Green Grok Blogs on Health
GM Declares Bankruptcy
by Bill ChameidesJun 01, 2009
filed under: transportation, business, air pollution, automobile, automakers, health, Wall Street Journal, carbon dioxide emissions, General Motors
The end of an era, to be sure. But how did this happen? The result of meddling by “pointy-headed busybodies” or the inevitable march of time?
Is a Free-Range Pig a Good Pig?
by Bill ChameidesApr 23, 2009
filed under: food, antibiotics, pigs, health, New York Times, salmonella, bacteria
A free-range pig is happier than a confined pig. Perhaps. But is a free-range pig safe to eat?
Finally Standards for Coal Ash … Just in Time?
by Bill ChameidesMar 11, 2009
filed under: waste, toxins, water pollution, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, coal ash, policy, Environmental Protection Agency, power plants, Tennessee Valley Authority, pollution
On Monday, while the Environmental Protection Agency sought information from electric companies about their coal waste disposal practices, a new crisis was bubbling up around Maryland. It’s about time EPA acts on coal waste. But is it enough?
Environmental Roundup
by Bill ChameidesMar 05, 2009
filed under: wetlands, air quality, lead, air pollution, water, health, recycled paper, Environmental Protection Agency, waste
From coastal wetlands and "green" tissue paper to getting the lead out, here are four environmental news items theGreenGrok thought you might want to know about.
The Old Ice Age Myth Put to Rest
by Bill ChameidesFeb 10, 2009
filed under: Europe, aerosols, air quality, air pollution, climate change, global warming, coal, cooling, paper, Germany, climate skeptics, Switzerland, health, particulate matter, fossil fuels, science
Global warming skeptics often point to an "imminent ice age” touted by the popular press in the 1970s to dissuade the public from believing today’s very real threat of global warming. The argument was always a red herring, and now a new paper resolves the scientific issues raised by the supposed warnings.
Clean Coal’s Dirty Secret - When 'Clean' Isn't Clean
by Bill ChameidesFeb 04, 2009
filed under: air quality, particulate matter, air pollution, coal, water pollution, coal ash, waste, Tennessee Valley Authority, power plants
Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel. Burning it produces a myriad of noxious air pollutants. That's a problem. Clean coal technology supposedly scrubs those pollutants before they get into the atmosphere. Problem gone, right? Not quite. Guess where those pollutants end up.
Memo to CNN.com: You Got It Wrong
by Bill ChameidesFeb 02, 2009
filed under: cap and trade, green investments, climate change, energy, Supreme Court, New York Times, Clean Air Act (1990), air quality, renewable energy, renewables, economy, fuel economy, oil, carbon tax, global warming, Barack Obama, CNN, Department of Transportation, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), air pollution, economics, gasoline, George W. Bush, Environmental Protection Agency
It’s great when reporters call you for your opinion. It’s even better when they feature a quote from you in the story. And it’s better yet when it’s from an organization with the reach of CNN. However, it’s not great when they get what you said wrong.
Tennessee Coal Ash Contaminated With Radioactivity and Arsenic
by Bill ChameidesJan 29, 2009
filed under: aerosols, radioactivity, air quality, air pollution, particulate matter, radium, coal, Duke University, coal ash, water pollution, arsenic, Tennessee Valley Authority
Remember that huge spill of coal ash at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston coal-fired power plant on December 22nd? New measurements by Duke University scientists confirm not only the presence of toxic metals like arsenic but also dangerous levels of radioactivity.
Obama: The Environmental President?
by Bill ChameidesJan 21, 2009
filed under: cap and trade, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Fish & Wildlife Service, Diane Feinstein, water pollution, Theodore Roosevelt, Ronald Reagan, Richard Nixon, Clean Air Act (1990), air quality, legislation, Clean Water Act, National Park Service, Kyoto Protocol, Clean Air Act, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Clinton, George H. W. Bush, oceans, global warming, Barack Obama, Endangered Species Act, Jimmy Carter, Al Gore, air pollution, Woodrow Wilson, Montreal Protocol, George W. Bush, Environmental Protection Agency, Yosemite
It's official: there's a new U.S. president. Will Barack Obama be able to advance an environmental agenda? If so, he will have distinguished himself from Democratic administrations that promised a lot but delivered little on the environment.
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Statistically Speaking: Real vs. Fake Christmas Trees
by Bill ChameidesDec 18, 2008
filed under: toxins, Christmas trees, statistically speaking, Statistically Speaking, health, green living
In 1901, Theodore Roosevelt nixed a Christmas tree for the White House. "It's not good to cut down trees for mere decoration," he claimed. "We must set a good example for the people of America." Was President Roosevelt right? Should today's conservationists take a page out of his book and forgo the tree?!
Statistically Speaking: Detroit Does It Better in Europe
by Bill ChameidesDec 05, 2008
filed under: fuel economy, transportation, Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE), air pollution, Statistically Speaking, automobile, statistically speaking, alternative fuel, diesel, Detroit, particulate matter, gasoline, carbon dioxide emissions, ultra low sulfur diesel, nitrogen oxides
So the Big Three automakers are in trouble and want some of our money to stay afloat. Before handing over any cash, we might want to look at how Detroit does when it has to.
The Life of a Turkey
by Bill ChameidesNov 21, 2008
filed under: food, health, animals, turkey
Thanksgiving approaches. As most of us look forward to celebrating our blessings with family and friends, putting a turkey front and center on the dinner table, I thought it might be interesting to learn about the life of the average American turkey.
Are All Meat-Eaters Children of the Corn?
by Bill ChameidesNov 18, 2008
filed under: animals, food, corn, health, agriculture
For decades, big companies have been consuming others until only a few are left. This Pac Man-like game has been especially true of agriculture where a handful of large corporations control almost every aspect of our food production. A new study explores this situation vis-a-vis our fast-food addiction.
Update on E-Waste
by Bill ChameidesNov 13, 2008
filed under: e-waste, health, pollution
If you caught 60 Minutes on Sunday, you got quite an eyeful. Scott Pelley's 12-minute exposé opened a window onto the continuing problem of electronic waste. Following a tanker filled with computer monitors and other abandoned electronics, from a U.S. to a Hong Kong port, the news magazine shined a light on an illegal but apparently common practice. Though exporting e-waste is against the law, it is obviously still happening. But a bit of good news on the e-waste front crossed the wires this week as well.
Leave the Caps Off!
by Bill ChameidesNov 11, 2008
filed under: bpa, recycling, plastic
Are you an obsessive-compulsive type like me, who recaps plastic bottles before tossing them into the recycling bin? Wrong.
The Pros and Cons of Modernization: Cancer in China
by Bill ChameidesNov 06, 2008
filed under: air quality, air pollution, health, China, pollution
When it comes to getting cancer, is it better to live in a modern, developed economy or in an undeveloped one? Two studies from China suggest that the answer is yes … and yes.
Mercury: A Persistent Toxin
by Bill ChameidesOct 29, 2008
filed under: mercury, Clean Air Act, animals, air pollution, food, fish, oceans, mercury contamination, pollution
Mercury poisoning has a long history. The phrase "mad as a hatter" (circa 1830s) derives from the slurred speech, tremors and other neurological symptoms displayed by the day's hatmakers – maladies caused by long-term exposure to mercury used in hat-making. Today, the highly toxic metal continues to plague us, and new studies indicate even very low doses of mercury can be risky. But there's at least one way we can safeguard against it – remember, you are what you eat.
Climate Change: Bad News on the Health Front
by Bill ChameidesOct 15, 2008
filed under: climate change, disease, global warming, health, heat waves, floods, wild fires
When it comes to environmental pollution, people tend to care most about health effects. Three new studies on how global warming is affecting health will not be welcome news to these folks.
Statistically Speaking: Natural Gas - Future Green Fuel?
by Bill ChameidesOct 03, 2008
filed under: aerosols, air quality, air pollution, Statistically Speaking, statistically speaking, natural gas, gasoline, particulate matter, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide emissions, nitrogen oxides
Seen those natural gas commercials on TV? They tout natural gas as the low-carbon, low-pollution, homegrown, near-term solution to break our addiction to oil. Sounds great, but is it true?
Is It Too Late to Avoid Dangerous Climate Change?
by Bill ChameidesSep 22, 2008
filed under: aerosols, air pollution, climate change, global warming, particulate matter, carbon dioxide emissions
Scientists call it DAI — "dangerous anthropogenic interference" with the climate system. The United States along with 191 other countries pledged to prevent DAI in 1994. However, little has happened to address the problem since, and now some scientists think it may be too late.
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