from http://earthfirstnews.wordpress.com/ Cross Posted from Op Ed News In a match that some would say was made in hell, the nation’s two leading producers of agro-chemicals have joined forces in a partnership to reintroduce the use of the herbicide 2, 4-D, one half of the infamous defoliant Agent Orange, which was used by American forces to clear jungle … Continue reading Dow and Monsanto Set to Team Up to Reintroduce Agent Orange Pesticide in the MidWest→
By Akiko Okazaki / The Asahi Shimbun A mind-boggling 40,000 trillion becquerels of radioactive cesium, or twice the amount previously thought, may have spewed from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant after the March 11 disaster, scientists say. Michio Aoyama, a senior researcher at the Meteorological Research Institute, released the finding at a … Continue reading Scientists double estimates of Fukushima cesium discharge to 40 quadrillion becquerels→
By Jeff Biggers In a move that should electrify the clean energy movement across the country, the tireless champions with the Chicago Clean Power Coalition have announced that Midwest Generation, a subsidiary of multinational giant Edison International, will soon shut down the Windy City’s two Model-T-era coal-fired plants. The historic victory, after a decade-long battle, … Continue reading Grassroots movement forces shuttering of two Chicago coal plants→
By Environment News Service The Union of Concerned Scientists has documented 15 “near-misses” at 13 U.S. nuclear plants during 2011 and evaluates the response of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to each event in a report released today. The second in an annual series of reports, “The NRC and Nuclear Power Plant Safety 2011 Report: Living … Continue reading Nuclear plants in United States experienced fifteen “near-misses” in 2011→
By Ecowatch Each year, mining companies dump more than 180 million tonnes of hazardous mine waste into rivers, lakes, and oceans worldwide, threatening vital bodies of water with toxic heavy metals and other chemicals poisonous to humans and wildlife, according to report released on Feb. 28 by two leading mining reform groups. An investigation by … Continue reading Rivers, lakes, and oceans poisoned with 180 million tons of mine waste every year→
By Kevin Begos, Associated Press A western Pennsylvania woman says state environmental officials refused to do follow-up tests after their lab reported her drinking water contained chemicals that could be from nearby gas drilling. At least 10 households in the rural Woodlands community, about 30 miles north of Pittsburgh, have complained that recent drilling impacted … Continue reading Fracking chemicals found in water near drilling area; environmental agency refuses further testing→
By Tom Philpott / Mother Jones The meat industry defends its reliance on routine antibiotic use by flatly denying the practice poses any public-health problem. The view is summed up by this 2010 National Pork Producers Council newsletter: “[T]here are no definitive studies linking the use of antibiotics in animal feed to changes in resistance … Continue reading Factory farms implicated in marine mammal die-off→
By David Ferguson / The Raw Story Speculation has long abounded that overuse of antibiotics by factory farmers has been a major contributing factor in the development of so-called “superbugs” like MRSA or Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Now, according to a report from Mother Jones, there is scientific proof. According to a paper in the American … Continue reading Study: Factory farm antibiotic use responsible for “superbug” transmittable to humans→
Members of the Mapuche community say the Argentine government’s aggressive push to increase energy supplies by allowing oil companies to explore in their lands will cause irreversible environmental and social damage.
According to Argentina´s Energy Secretariat, close to 87 percent of Argentina’s energy is generated from fossil fuels. The government agency said that in 1988 Argentina had enough gas supplies for 36 years. But by 2009, this outlook was slashed to seven years. Oil supplies fell from 14 to nine in the same period. ... Continue reading →