Polar Bears Headed for
Crash as Bush Administration Stalls on Clean Cars
Bio Gems
 Last
week, government scientists announced that two-thirds of polar bears
will die off by 2050 because of a warming planet and shrinking
summer sea ice.
Maybe the Bush EPA didn't get the news. That agency
continues to block one of the very solutions that could help polar
bear populations survive.
Please help us get the EPA in gear by making your voice heard today.
Tell the agency to give California permission to control global
warming pollution from passenger vehicles -- for the sake of every
species on the planet, including our own.
Click here to
send your message
California set standards three years ago to cut
global warming pollution from new cars and light trucks. Fourteen
other states plan to follow California's lead. (You can see a list
of states at the bottom of this email.)
Together, those states account for more than 40 percent of new car
sales. But the Bush Administration is standing in the way, thus far
refusing to let California's clean car standards take effect.
Now the EPA's flimsy excuses are unraveling, thanks to legal
victories won by our partner, NRDC, working together with the states
and other environmental groups.
First, the EPA claimed that the Clean Air Act -- the law California
is using -- does not authorize standards for global warming
pollution. But the Supreme Court ruled last April that the Clean Air
Act does cover global warming pollution.
Then, in a dramatic ruling last week, a federal judge in Vermont
rejected the auto industry's lawsuit to overturn the states' clean
car standards. The court ruled that California has the right to lead
the way in fighting global warming pollution from tailpipes, and
that other states, including Vermont, have the right to follow
California's example.
But California faces one more hurdle. The state can't start
cutting its own pollution until the Bush Administration grants
permission.
Thanks to the courts, pressure is building. And the head of the EPA
has promised a decision by the end of the year.
Now we need to build an overwhelming show of public support
for California's pioneering law.
Click here and
tell the EPA to stop stalling and get in gear against global
warming!
With global warming growing worse by the day -- and the fate of
polar bears now hanging in the balance -- we can't afford to wait
for the Bush EPA to act.
Tell the head of the EPA to get out of the way and let California
and other states tackle the most urgent environmental problem of our
time.
Deforestation Needs to
be in Next Climate Pact
by
Eliza Barclay, National Geographic News
JAKARTA -Cutting emissions from
deforestation will be key to curbing climate change and should be
agreed upon in December's climate talks in Bali, a leading
Indonesian forestry researcher said on Monday.
The conference on the resort island is expected to initiate talks on
clinching a new deal by 2009 to fight global warming.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, developed nations can pay poor countries
to cut emissions from activities such as the manufacture of
refrigerants and fertilizers as well as capturing greenhouse gases
from farm waste and rubbish dumps.
But greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation, nearly 20 percent
of the world's total, are not yet eligible for trade because they
were excluded from the Kyoto Protocol's first round, which runs out
in 2012...
Click
here
for the rest of the story.
Climate Change
Spurring Dengue Rise, Experts Say
by Laura MacInnis, ENN
Climate change is accelerating the
spread of dengue fever throughout the Americas and in tropical
regions worldwide, researchers say.
More rainfall in certain areas and warmer temperatures overall are
providing optimal conditions for mosquitos—which spread the virus
that causes dengue—to breed and expand into new territories.
By 2085 climate change will put an estimated 3.5 billion people at
risk of dengue fever, the United Nations's Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) said in March. (Related news: "Dengue
Fever: Growing Threat Rivals Malaria, Ebola, Experts Say" [October
18, 2006].)
"Climate change is incurring lots of unintended consequences for
health around the world," said Paul Epstein, associate director of
the Center for Health and the Global Environment at the Harvard
Medical School. Epstein also worked on the IPCC report...
Click
here
for the rest of the story.
Air Fresheners
Unregulated, Potentially Dangerous, Group Says
by Alana Herro, Worldwatch Institute
A study of 14 common household air
fresheners has found that most of the surveyed products contain
chemicals that can aggravate asthma and affect reproductive
development, according to the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).
“There are too many products on the shelves that we assume are safe,
but have never even been tested,” said Dr. Gina Solomon, NRDC senior
scientist. “The government should be keeping a watchful eye on these
household items and the manufacturers who produce them.”
The study assessed scented sprays, gels, and plug-in air fresheners.
Independent lab testing confirmed the presence of phthalates, or
hormone-disrupting chemicals that may pose a particular health risk
to babies and young children, in 12 of the 14 products—including
those marked “all natural.” None of the products had these chemicals
listed on their labels, according to the report. On September 19,
NRDC, along with the Sierra Club, Alliance for Healthy Homes, and
the National Center for Healthy Housing, filed a petition with the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Consumer Product Safety
Commission to report the findings.
In response to the petition, the U.S. drug store chain Walgreens
pulled three of the assessed air fresheners from shelves in its
5,850 stores nationwide, and will conduct its own testing on the
products to evaluate their safety, according to the San Francisco
Chronicle. Some 75 percent of U.S. households use air fresheners,
according to NRDC. The industry is now worth $1.72 billion in the
United States, a 50-percent increase over 2003...
Click
here
for the rest of the story.
|
