a little light reading for your mid-week enjoyment.
Everybody's talking about drugs in the water. . . except the people who ought to be. The Pump Handle's got that story. And if you've got questions, Siel's got answers (thank goodness).
The Neighborhood Toxicologist offers an instructive comparison between the U.S.'s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the E.U.'s Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals legislation (REACH). It's true that TSCA is in desperate need of overhaul, but when it comes right down to it, REACH could stand to be quite a bit stronger as well.
Real estate experts advise that, when you're buying land, you should always ask lots of questions about water rights. While you're at it, you should go ahead and ask if there are any plans to build an ethanol plant in the area -- that may just use up all the water your county has. Solve Climate's on the story.
Seventh Generation has revamped their website and started a new blog to discuss environmental and health issues. Meet 7Gen!
Moving daylight savings a little earlier was supposed to save a whole lot of energy. Has it? EnviroWonk looks at a study that isn't so sure.
Ah, the sweet smell of chemical "clean." Allie advises readers to ditch the conventional, fragranced fabric softener and detergent in favor of something that will make your clothes smell like clean laundry instead of mountain springs.
Remember sewage sludge fertilizer? It kills cows, is full of toxic chemicals, and (we're going to go out on a limb here) probably has some of those pharmaceutical remnants in it too. As if it wasn't obvious enough that we shouldn't be putting this stuff on our fields.
Finally, I don't know if you read Crunchy Chicken, but this woman has the energy and perseverance of four of me. One of her recent campaigns is Goods4Girls, an operation she put together to send reusable cloth menstrual pads to women in Africa who otherwise are forced to stay home from school or work during their "time of the month." Why is this pertinent to an environmental blog? Here's your answer:
Providing disposable supplies creates an additional burden on some communities where solid waste disposal consists of burning the garbage. Since many disposable feminine hygiene products contain plastic, incineration potentially creates an environmental and health hazard.Goods4Girls has seen amazing success so far. Go to the website to find out how you can help!
Photo by isdky.