This week’s environmental protests all have the same key feature – scrutiny. In each case, the protestors are asking for a very specific response from those involved: a closer look at what’s going on, and what can be done to make things better.
Researchers at the University of York have recently come up with a method of recycling that seems like it fell from the pages of a science fiction novel. They want to turn discarded television screens into components for biomedicine.
There’s been a seven- to eight-fold increase of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) cases in California since 1990.
I’ve suspected that the rise in diagnoses of ASD is linked to many factors, one of them better detection. You, too? Not so, says a new study.
“It’s time to start looking for the environmental culprits responsible for the remarkable increase in the rate of autism in California…We’re looking at the possible effects of metals, pesticides and infectious agents on neurodevelopment,” said researcher Irva Hertz-Piccoto.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a scathing critique of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today for failing to control the export of toxic e-waste to third world countries. Discarded computers, televisions, cellphones, etc. contain hazardous heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium which are dismantled under unsafe conditions in other countries where they enter into the air and water. House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard L. Berman [...]
It is back to school time, and whether you child plays at a park or a school, you have probably been on a playground that uses recycled tires for cushioning. In the past, I have questioned the safety of children playing with old tires; however, I remember enjoy tire swings immensely as a child. Now, the Green Guide has reported on the safety of recycled tire cushioning found on many playgrounds.
A few years ago, we installed new playground equipment at our school. As the teacher in charge of the project, I was encouraged by parents to explore the option of recycled tires for cushioning, which comes in either a mulch or mat. At first, I thought this was a good idea as it involved recycling and really does provide a great cushioning, but in the end we chose pea gravel for cost, environmental, and safety concerns.
Fireworks displays create surges of pollutant ozone in lower levels of the atmosphere, where it is a respiratory irritant, greenhouse gas, and plant toxin. Some scientists believe fireworks are an “insignificant source of pollution”, because they occur infrequently; however, no source of greenhouse gases is insignificant considering our current climate crisis, not to mention the heavy metals and potassium perchlorate in these grand patriotic displays.
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