The latest from EWG’s staff of experts

Recently there's been plenty of debate within scientific, regulatory, and public health circles about the role of industry funding in scientific research and on government advisory panels--with robust arguments from each side. But almost everyone--including the FDA, the American Chemistry Council, and the Society of Toxicology agree on one point: full disclosure of professional associations and financial interests is the bare minimum necessary to safeguard the public interest.

Key Issues: 

Toxics

On Sunday, the New York Times ran a piece on PZEV’s, or Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles. PZEV’s are poorly marketed versions of the most popular cars on the road. The difference? They have better pollution-control systems than their identical counterparts—so much better that PZEV’s are 70 percent cleaner than vehicles that already meet “low emissions” standards. Sounds a little strange?

Key Issues: 

Toxics

Consumer Products

The City Gas Guzzler, which we linked to last week, is drawing lots of comments on the Autoblog.

Key Issues: 

Consumer Products

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on mercury in dental fillings: "...Mercury in its many forms is poisonous, especially to children and pregnant women. The most heinous problems are neurological ones, which can hurt children's ability to learn, even before they're born."

Key Issues: 

Mercury

Several articles from recent news.

Key Issues: 

Toxics

Asbestos

Pesticides

Today Center for Science in the Public (CSPI) Interest hosted a public forum to discuss conflicts of interest on National Academy of Sciences (NAS) issue panels. CSPI's most notable finding was that out of 320 NAS issue panel committee members evaluated, 18% had "direct conflicts of interest " defined as "a direct and recent connection to a company or industry with a financial stake in the study outcome."

Key Issues: 

Conservation

What do Oceana, Oxfam America, and Greenpeace all have in common? Well-among other things-they are all nonprofits that have tapped into the social networking world of MySpace.com to attract new supporters.

Key Issues: 

Conservation

Today, the Post's farm policy investigators tell the story of a 2003 boondoggle in which massive stockpiles of powdered milk, intended for use as "drought relief," ended up being traded all over the U.S. and in Mexico for big profits.

Organic hot dogs, burgers, and milkshakes may soon be making their way to the streets of the Big Apple. According to Sustainable Industries Journal, activist Antonia Nagy is working on a business model that will put multiple street-vendor style food carts around New York, allowing a greater diversity of people exposure to organic food. Way to go, Antonia!

Key Issues: 

Local & Sustainable