·:[ Environmental News Bits ]:·
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Read the full story in Chicago Tribune’s Redeye.

The health-conscious among us take care to avoid notorious risks such as mercury-laden fish, lead paint and cigarette smoke — all of which contain chemicals proven to do a body bad.

But do you ever think twice about the lotion you smear on your face, the can of soda you gulp down or the furniture you nap on? Countless products we use every day are chock full of chemicals, and research suggests they might hurt us more than we realize.

Read the full story in the Chicago Tribune.

To the seven deadly sins — pride, envy, gluttony, lust, anger, greed and sloth — add pollution, drugs and genetic experiments. The Vatican newspaper L’Osservatore Romano asked Monsignor Gianfranco Girotti, head of the Roman Catholic Church’s Apostolic Penitentiary, what, in his opinion, are the “new sins.”

Read the full story in the Washington Post.

Unions at the Environmental Protection Agency have pulled out of a long-standing partnership with management, saying Administrator Stephen L. Johnson has failed to deal in good faith on issues such as scientific integrity and job evaluations.

In a Feb. 29 letter to Johnson, 19 union leaders, who represent 10,000 EPA employees, complained that he and other top managers have ignored the advice of unionized workers and the agency’s own principles of scientific integrity. They cited issues that include fluoride drinking-water standards, a California bid to limit greenhouse gases, and mercury emissions from power plants.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

Potentially hazardous discharges from a biodiesel plant seem an incongruity from an earth-friendly industry.

Read the full story in Technology Review.

Concern about the amount of energy eaten up by data centers has led to a slew of research in the area, including new work from Microsoft Research’s Networked Embedded Computing group, which was showcased last week in Redmond, WA, at Microsoft’s TechFest 2008. The work attacks the energy-consumption problem in two ways: new algorithms make it possible to free up servers and put them into sleep mode, and sensors identify which servers would be best to shut down based on the environmental conditions in different parts of the server room. By eliminating hot spots and minimizing the number of active servers, Microsoft researchers say that the system could produce as much as 30 percent in energy savings in data centers.

Read the full story in Occupational Health & Safety.

OSHA told the world yesterday about its new Combustible Dust Safety and Health Topics page (www.osha.gov/dsg/combustibledust/index.html)  and noted that it contains a link to the agency’s ongoing National Emphasis Program on Combustible Dust.

How can you make the remarkable benefits of green schools a reality for children, teachers and your school community? Join Healthy Schools Campaign for an inspiring and informative workshop and school tour with lunch catered by Chicago’s popular Wishbone catering. At this event, you will:

• See green design in action in a school setting
• Talk with school leaders, design professionals and building experts
• Learn about ways that green schools affect academic outcomes, attendance, staff retention, community morale and the health of everyone in the building
• Discuss financing, funding resources and cost-saving aspects of green school design

You’ll hear firsthand from individuals leading meaningful change in the green schools movement:

Stuart Brodsky has dedicated his 22-year career at OWP/P Architects in Chicago to the design and planning of educational facilities. At a firm renown for its K12 expertise, Stuart’s projects have received national recognition by organizations such as the American Institute of Architects, the Council for Educational Facility Planners and the American Association of School Administrators. As part of Mayor Richard Daley’s dedication to sustainable architecture, Stuart served as LEED manager for the Chicago Public Schools’ initiative to LEED-certify all new schools.

William S. Haas is an Energy Division Representative for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, where his responsibilities include energy policy research and program management. Prior to joining the Department, Mr. Haas worked as a Policy Associate with the Environmental Law and Policy Center focusing on issues ranging from renewable energy and energy efficiency to air quality and water pollution.

Vincent Iturralde is the founding principal of the Tarkington School of Excellence, Chicago’s first LEED certified “green” school. He as been an educator in the Chicago Public Schools system for the past 10 years and is presently the president of the Mexican Administrators for Education. Vincent is a strong advocate for the improvement and retention of highly qualified teachers in the neediest inner-city schools and continues to be an advocate for environmental consciousness in education through the integration of “green” curriculum in all subject areas.

Nona Myers coordinates the Illinois Finance Authority’s education financing programs and serves as a funding manager for the not-for-profit sector. Previously, she worked in school district financing for LaSalle Capital Markets and worked for 30 years with the Illinois State Board of Education, including her role as division administrator for health, life and safety within the finance department. Nona brings her rich understanding of school finance to the practical questions surrounding green school building and renovation.

The workshop includes a tour of Tarkington School of Excellence, an innovative and highly acclaimed green school. Following the workshop, participants are invited to an optional tour of the Chicago Center for Green Technology.

Read the full story in Plenty Magazine.

As more biofuel stations pop up, how do you know if what you’re buying is good or bad for the environment?

Read the full story from News.com.

The Republic of Ireland already has installed about 800 megawatts worth of wind turbines, and wind park developers have or are expected to file applications to put an additional 3,700 megawatts worth of wind onto the grid. The government will likely surpass its goal of having 1,200 megawatts of wind by 2010. (Ireland’s ultimate goal is to get 33 percent to 42 percent of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020, a fairly high figure for an industrialized nation.)

While most of the turbines are located on land, developers are also looking at offshore wind, similar to the Arklow Bank park developed by General Electric and Airtricity. Tidal-power companies are also receiving a lot of attention.

Read the press release.

EcoAlign, a strategic marketing agency focused on energy and the environment and an affiliate of DEFG LLC, today released the results of the third EcoPinion survey on green brands and brand messaging.

The third EcoPinion Survey highlights the fact that very few brands have any resonance in the market for green products and services. Consumers largely have a neutral, wait-and-see stance on company commitments and leadership on renewable energy, energy efficiency and the environment.

Has your community organization cleaned up a stream? Have you enjoyed a day in the woods? Has a wild animal ever sparked your imagination?

If you’ve caught anything like those moments in a photo, share it with us! We want to see how you would show EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment. Send us your best photos in three categories:

• Enjoying the environment
• Protecting the environment
• Nature and wildlife

To encourage participation and provide maximum public access, the contest will be hosted on the photo sharing site Flickr.com.  People around the world are encouraged to enter.

The contest will run as follows:
March 24: entries due
April 1: Finalists announced, public voting for winners begins
April 15: voting ends
April 22 (Earth Day): winners announced

Finalist and winning photos will be featured on EPA’s Web site.

Full details about the contest, including how to enter are available at http://www.epa.gov/earthday/photocontest.

Read the full Associated Press story.

A five-month Associated Press investigation has determined that trace amounts of many of the pharmaceuticals we take to stay healthy are seeping into drinking water supplies, and a growing body of research indicates that this could harm humans.

But people aren’t the only ones who consume that water. There is more and more evidence that some animals that live in or drink from streams and lakes are seriously affected.

Read the full Associated Press story.

A vast array of pharmaceuticals — including antibiotics, anti-convulsants, mood stabilizers and sex hormones — have been found in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans, an Associated Press investigation shows.

Related story

AP Water Probe Prompts Senate Hearings
Two veteran U.S. senators said they plan to hold hearings in response to an Associated Press investigation into the presence of trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in the drinking water supplies of at least 41 million Americans.

This excellent article in the January/February 2008 issue of Online by Kaeti and Frederick Stoss highlights climate change research and policy resources.

Read the full story in the New York Times.

A group of Baptist leaders has decided to back a declaration on climate change, saying the Southern Baptist Convention’s previous position on the issue was “too timid.”

Read the full post at Technology Review.

Toyota’s Prius hybrid has been more successful than GM’s hybrid offerings. Today at the International Geneva Motor Show, GM announced its intention to upgrade the battery packs in its basic hybrid system to deliver more power. Maybe that will help improve sales.

Read the full story in Technology Review.

Marine scientists have long suspected that humpback whales’ incredible agility comes from the bumps on the leading edges of their flippers. Now Harvard University researchers have come up with a mathematical model that helps explain this hydrodynamic edge. The work gives theoretical weight to a growing body of empirical evidence that similar bumps could lead to more-stable airplane designs, submarines with greater agility, and turbine blades that can capture more energy from the wind and water.

Read the full post at Technology Review.

The world’s top automakers’ leaders finally woke up, looked around, and realized what many experts have been saying for years: hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles don’t make much sense. At the auto show in Geneva yesterday, Bob Lutz, GM’s vice chairman, the global-warming skeptic who is nevertheless leading the charge at GM in promoting cleaner vehicles, seems to have come close to conceding that the company’s much advertised fuel-cell program is little more than a marketing gimmick.