A new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences claims to link placental levels of various “persistent organic pollutants” (POPs) with neural tube defects (NTDs) in a population of rural Chinese. Continue reading Made in China: POPs linked to birth defects?
New tobacco warning: Don't smoke around mice
Billions of people have been exposed to secondhand smoke during the past 400 or so years… so let’s ignore that and consider what happened to 32 mice over the course of two weeks. Continue reading New tobacco warning: Don't smoke around mice
Ombudsman trashes NYTimes anti-fracking story
The New York Times ombudsman takes the same dim view (but more politely) as JunkScience of the the Times‘ recent attack on fracking. It’s too bad, however, that the dubious fracking stories were on the Times‘ front page, while the ombudsman’s critique is on Page 10 of the Sunday Review section.
House GOP hits EPA on collusion with enviros, tox assessments
House Republicans have opened up two long-overdue lines of attack on the EPA. Continue reading House GOP hits EPA on collusion with enviros, tox assessments
CPSC votes for even sillier lead standards
The Consumer Product Safety Commission voted yesterday to require that toys be 99.99% lead-free, versus the current standard of 99.97% lead-free. Like the old standard, however, the new standard will have no impact on any child’s health.
As we pointed out previously, the only children harmed by lead in toys have been kids who have swallowed solid lead trinkets. There is no evidence that anyone has ever been harmed — not even a single IQ point lost — by exposure to trace lead levels in consumer products or ambient lead levels.
Lisa Jackson: No limit to EPA's air authority
EPA administrator Lisa Jackson affirmed this week that the EPA could view Mother Nature as a polluter. Continue reading Lisa Jackson: No limit to EPA's air authority
Another win: Utility pulls plug on carbon capture project
American Electric Power has pulled the plug on its carbon capture and storage (CCS) project at its Mountaineer facility in West Virginia reports the New York Times — and we helped. Continue reading Another win: Utility pulls plug on carbon capture project
Ocean 'acidification' threatens mussels?
Guess which “scientists” at University of California-Davis have apparently never heard of natural selection? Continue reading Ocean 'acidification' threatens mussels?
Cellulosic ethanol not working out for BP — or anyone else
Remember that “Beyond Petroleum” TV ad with the pudgy farm boy who wondered if biofuels were the future of fuel (or some such nonsense)? Well, the answer is looking like, “no.” Continue reading Cellulosic ethanol not working out for BP — or anyone else
EPA riders sabotaged from within House GOP?
Rep. Ed Whitfield (R-KY) thinks someone within the GOP-controlled House Energy and Commerce Committee sabotaged efforts to rein in the EPA through the appropriations process. We have an idea for where to start looking. Continue reading EPA riders sabotaged from within House GOP?
10 House GOP-ers whose political lights need to be switched off in 2012
The House failed to repeal the incandescent light bulb ban yesterday. Continue reading 10 House GOP-ers whose political lights need to be switched off in 2012