Environment

News

Chronic Wasting Disease on the Rise in Wisconsin Deer; Will it Infect Humans?

by Rebekah Wilce — June 13, 2013 - 6:21am
  • Topics: Mad Cow Disease, Environment, Food Rights Network

    • The rate of chronic wasting disease (CWD) is on the rise among deer in Iowa County, Wisconsin and elsewhere across the state. CWD is a fatal, transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE) similar to what is commonly known as mad cow disease that is caused by twisted proteins, or prions. For hunters, writes outdoors reporter Patrick Durkin, this means the disease might be affecting the herd now. For anyone who eats venison, this means greater chances that the disease could conceivably make the species jump and infect humans

    News

    Environmental Groups Split on Illinois Fracking Bill

    by Nick Surgey — June 5, 2013 - 6:25am
  • Topics: Activism, Fracking, Environment

    • The Illinois legislature has passed a fracking regulatory bill, expected to be signed into law by the governor, hailed by some environmental groups as the "toughest in the country." But other groups are highly critical, both of the bill and of the way some big environmental groups worked with legislators and industry to pass it into law.

    News

    Madison Joins "Fossil Free" Divestment Effort

    by Harriet Rowan — April 26, 2013 - 10:00am
  • Topics: Global Warming, Environment

    • Mayor Paul Soglin threw his support behind 350.org's "Fossil Free" campaign, pledging to keep Madison free of fossil fuel investments and working to convince other units of local government to do the

    News

    Over a Million Comments Filed on GE Salmon as New Evidence Emerges of Deeply Flawed Review

    by Rebekah Wilce — April 26, 2013 - 8:15am
  • Topics: Food Safety, Genetic Engineering, Environment, Food Rights Network

    • The extended comment period on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review and approval of AquAdvantage genetically engineered (GE) salmon ends April 26. As more comments flood in, the Center for Food Safety (CFS) reports that documents disclosed through a Freedom of Information Request (FOIA) "raise serious questions about the adequacy of the FDA's review of the AquAdvantage Salmon application."

    Op-Ed

    On Earth Day, ALEC Bemoans “Somber” Environmentalists

    by Nick Surgey — April 22, 2013 - 5:43pm
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Global Warming, Energy, Environment

    • The American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), which is centrally involved with pushing environmentally destructive legislation on behalf of the fossil fuel industry, today complained that "Earth Day has been a largely somber event" when it should be "a celebration of the wonderful achievements humankind has made in cleaning and greening the planet," wrote Todd Wynn, ALEC Energy, Environment, and Agriculture Task Force Director.

    News

    Bayer and Syngenta Lobby Furiously Against EU Efforts to Limit Pesticides and Save Bees

    by Rebekah Wilce — April 22, 2013 - 5:53am
  • Topics: Corporations, Environment, Food, Food Rights Network

    • Bee populations have been declining rapidly worldwide in recent years -- in the U.S., they have declined by almost 50 percent just since October 2012, according to The Ecologist. The problem is complex, with possible culprits including certain parasites (like Varroa mites), viruses, pesticides, and industrial agriculture. But two studies published in early 2012 in the journal Science suggested a particularly strong connection between the use of a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids and the decline of both bumble bee and honeybee populations.

    News

    Seven State Keystone XL Resolutions -- Where Are the Environmentalists?

    by Nick Surgey — April 8, 2013 - 7:38am
  • Topics: ALEC Exposed, Energy, Environment

    • The cleanup is still underway from a massive pipeline spill in Mayflower, Arkansas, but you don't hear anything about it at public hearings across the nation dealing with the Keystone XL (KXL) pipeline. Resolutions supporting the controversial KXL pipeline have now been introduced in seven states, but while TransCanada, the American Petroleum Institute (API) and the Chamber of Commerce have been lobbying in force for the bills to pass, there have been few opposing voices by either Democrats or environmentalists at public hearings dealing on the measures. The massive pipeline project will transport tar sands crude oil from Alberta to Gulf Coast refineries for processing and export and once underway, the project will be a major contributor to global warming.

    News

    350.org Calls for Public Comment on Keystone XL Pipeline

    by Mary Bottari — April 2, 2013 - 9:49pm
  • Topics: Environment

    • After the recent tar sands pipeline spill in Arkansas, where thousands of gallons of toxic oil ran through the streets of a small community, the climate change organization 350.org is asking Americans to join in the public commenting process for the Keystone XL pipeline.

    News

    Chemical Industry Clout Delays EPA Regulation of Hexavalent Chromium

    by Rebekah Wilce — March 27, 2013 - 7:05am
  • Topics: Environment, Food Rights Network, Health, Science

    • The hit 2000 film Erin Brockovich, which tells the story of how a novice legal clerk holds a huge corporation liable for contaminating a town's drinking water with the carcinogenic chemical hexavalent chromium, or chromium (VI), ends in justice for those harmed. But as it turns out, Hinkley, California, the real-life town featured in the movie, is still contaminated.

    News

    WI Senate Passes Mining Bill, Opposition to Continue

    by Harriet Rowan — February 28, 2013 - 8:54am
  • Topics: Environment, Politics, Race / Ethnic Issues

    • A controversial mining bill, which opponents say will weaken environmental standards and threaten the state's water resources, has passed the Wisconsin State Senate. The bill, the first to be introduced in the 2013-2014 legislative session, passed 17 to 16 with one Republican, Senator Dale Schultz, voting against along with the 15 Senate Democrats. SB1 is nearly identical to the bill that failed to pass in 2012.

    Syndicate content