Nutrients and coastal waters: too much of a good thing?
Some years ago, I received an invitation from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to address a scientific meeting in New Orleans about the importance of maintaining freshwater flows into estuaries and coastal lagoons. My specific task was to point out that rivers and streams bring nutrients (nitrogen and...

Pollak keynotes SOCMA conference.
* Dr. Peter Pollak will address the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers Association on September 16 at the Corporate Excellence Conference, taking place September 14-17 at the Hyatt Regency Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, MD. Dr. Pollak's presentation is entitled, "Outlook for the Western Chemical Industry." Dr. Pollak will also moderate...

Lawmakers find environmental compromise.
Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard SALEM - Lawmakers dealt out several environmental compromises in their new state budget compact, including a watered-down pesticide reporting program, limitations on forest conservation and a go-slow approach to cleaning up the Willamette River. Lawmakers who brokered the budget deal...

Pesticides threaten public health on a global scale. (Farmers Poisoned Every Minute).
A new Environmental Justice Foundation report reveals how each year millions of developing world farmers are poisoned by pesticides, many of which are banned or strictly controlled in the West. The report, "What's your poison?" shows how poor regulations and freely available dangerous chemicals, coupled with a...

Green fuel's dirty secret.
The town of Columbus, Nebraska, bills itself as a "City of Power and Progress." If Archer Daniels Midland gets its way, that power will be partially generated by coal, one of the dirtiest forms of energy. When burned, it emits carcinogenic pollutants and high levels of the greenhouse gases...

Clothes for change.
Compared to awareness about food issues, public consciousness and responsible consumer purchasing in regard to clothing and apparel is woefully inadequate. Environmental and anti-Frankencrops activism has barely begun to impact the US garment and fashion marketplace, a $300 billion industry. Unfortunately, just about the same can be said for...

Assuring security of dangerous pesticides. (Chemicals).
Lawn care businesses, farmers, agricultural chemical dealers, and exterminators are among businesses that regularly use pesticides. With recent threats to the U.S., security of these chemicals becomes critical, so the Environmental Protection Agency issued an alert to the pesticide industry and related businesses in October. Among the precautions stressed...

Standing up for the spineless: are pesticides and other chemicals causing collateral damage in coastal waters?
Ask people to name some animals--any animals--and they will give you a long list. But chances are, all the animals will have one thing in common: a spine. The animals that usually come to mind--mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and birds--constitute only about 5 percent of the animal...

The science and ethics of clean water.
Elements of the natural world sustain human existence on Earth. To ensure an unending supply of resources for their own survival and that of future generations, humans have both a practical and ethical obligation to sustain the natural environment. How a society acts on this obligation-and the complex series...

Pesticide tracking funds denied.
Byline: SCOTT MABEN The Register-Guard Supporters of a new state system to track pesticide use say lawmakers from rural areas are trying to sabotage the program mere weeks before farmers, exterminators and others must report on the chemicals they used this year to control weeds, insects and...