EHS News daily roundup

Top EHSnews.org Headlines (New extension of this blog 😉

“People always call it luck when you’ve acted more sensibly than they have.” – Anne Tyler

Environmental

1. EPA Scientists Receive Presidential Honor  – WASHINGTON –Today two Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists were named recipients of the 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), which recognizes excellent research and leadership in the sciences. The award is the highest honor bestowed by … Continue reading →

2. 20 Simple ways to conserve water

3. Major river basins have enough water to sustainably double food production in the coming decades

4. Seven More Companies Dump Sustainable Forestry Initiative – AT&T, State Farm and Comcast are among seven Fortune 500 companies that have joined a growing corporate movement against the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, an eco-label that a non-profit alleges “greenwashes” environmentally damaging products. The trend began in March when seven … Continue reading →

5. Texas Sues EPA Over Power Plant Pollution Rules – Texas filed a petition for review of the EPA’s – the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule – in a federal appeals court, the Houston Chronicle reports, saying the state doesn’t have enough time to comply with the January 1 effective rule. … Continue reading →

6. U.S. to investigate protection for 374 water species

7. Second giant ice island set to break off Greenland glacier – msnbc: Astonished scientist says he was ‘completely unprepared for the gob-smacking scale of the breakup, which rendered me speechless’ New photographs taken of a vast glacier in northern Greenland have revealed the astonishing rate of its breakup, with one scientist … Continue reading →

8. Nissan Leaf first adopters say car exceeds expectations

9. Dell Backs Away from Carbon Neutrality, Focuses on Efficiency & E-Waste

10. Chemistry Goes Green – The discovery that our lives are filled with so many potential sources of exposure to chemicals with so many subtle but significant impacts has prompted the need for a pollution prevention strategy that goes well beyond … Continue reading →

Health & Safety

1. Cantaloupe listeria outbreak: Death toll rises to 16
   Dailymail Health officials say as many as 16 people have died from possible listeria illnesses traced to Colorado cantaloupes, the deadliest food outbreak in .

2. Kansas Firm Recalls Ground Beef Products Due To Possible E. Coli O157:H7 Contamination – Tyson Fresh Meats Inc., an Emporia, Kan. establishment, is recalling approximately 131,300 pounds of ground beef products that may be contaminated with E. coli O157:H7.

3. Building a Stronger Regional Safety Net: Philanthropy’s Role – Building a Stronger Regional Safety Net: Philanthropy’s Role Source: Brookings Institution The growth of suburban poverty over the past two decades raises questions about the ability of nonprofit organizations to adapt to this relatively new geography of metropolitan poverty. These … Continue reading →

4. Scientists Discover Genetic Mutation that Causes Parkinson’s Disease – A large team of international researchers have identified a new genetic cause of inherited Parkinson’s disease that they say may be related to the inability of brain cells to handle biological stress.

5. Empowering safety programs with real-time data visualization – An ongoing reality for safety managers and frontline personnel in almost any industry is the need to record safety incident data. When all incident data is inputted into a centralized database, a safety coordinator doesn’t have to wait for the … Continue reading →

6. EPA Releases Strategy to Protect People’s Health and the Environment in Communities Overburdened by Pollution – the release of Plan EJ 2014, a three-year, comprehensive plan to advance environmental justice efforts in nine areas, including rulemaking, permitting, enforcement, and science. Plan EJ 2014 aims to … Continue reading →

7. Forum Publishes Sustainable Packaging Guidelines –  The Consumer Goods Forum, a global trade organization that includes both brands and retailers, has unveiled its Global Protocol on Packaging Sustainability. The aim of the protocol, formulated with support from the packaging industry, … Continue reading →

8. Slaughter Introduces Bill to Streamline Pharmaceutical Disposal

9. Lots of Green in Green Labels: FTC Watching Certifiers

10. EPA Launches Green Products Portal for Pollution Prevention Week

11. Vitamin A Supplement Programs Improve Child Survival

12. Common painkillers can raise heart risk

13. The big C: cancer treatment is increasingly unaffordable

14. The Impact of Cutting Social Security Cost of Living Adjustments on the Living Standards of the Elderly

Energy

1. Award Honors Matt Simmons

2. Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing – The Energy Efficiency in Affordable Housing” session at the 2011-2012 Conference Series on Urban Sustainability.

3. Obama, High Speed Rail, and the State Of California – High speed rail is big business in other countries like China. America has been trying to get a high speed rail program in action for years with California being at the forefront of the planning. Now, it seems that lawsuits … Continue reading →

4. Low-Pressure Tanks Could Revolutionize Hydrogen Storage in Car

5. Tidal projects make headway in Australia and New Zealand – Tidal Today has a look at the state of play for tidal power projects in Australasia – Tidal projects make headway in Australia and New Zealand. Overall, the investment climate for renewables, including tidal, is set to improve significantly and … Continue reading →

6. U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon 2011 Underway – and results from the first of 10 contests tallied. Purdue University tied a team from Parsons the New School for Design/Stevens Institute of Technology for first in the affordability … Continue reading →

7. Loan Guarantees Finalized for Bio-Refinery, Geothermal, and Wind Projects – DOE has finalized three loan guarantees totaling $625 million in support of an Iowa bio-refinery, a Nevada geothermal power project, and New Hampshire’s largest wind farm.

8. Defense Department Speeds Clean Energy Move: Report – The U.S. Department of Defense has been accelerating clean energy innovations to reduce risk to military personnel, boost energy security, and save money, according to a report from The Pew Charitable Trusts.

9. ISO 50001: From Energy Project to Energy Plan – When it comes to energy, companies have three options: do nothing at all, undertake individual energy projects, or deploy an energy program that pushes lasting performance improvement. Any company that wants to survive, and ideally thrive, in the next five … Continue reading →

10. GE Energy Signs $3bn in Contracts – GE Energy has announced more than $3 billion in new customer agreements across its business, including waste-heat recovery, wind turbines, water treatment and a manufacturing efficiency contract with Anheuser-Busch InBev. GE signed a new partnership with global brewer AB InBev, … Continue reading →