Great Lakes Study Suppressed

This study was recently brought to my attention via prwatch.org:

"For more than seven months, the nation's top public health agency has blocked the publication of an exhaustive federal study of environmental hazards in the eight Great Lakes states, reportedly because it contains such potentially 'alarming information' as evidence of elevated infant mortality and cancer rates," reports Sheila Kaplan. The 400-page study, undertaken by a division of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in cooperation with the government of Canada, "warns that more than nine million people who live in the more than two dozen 'areas of concern' -- including such major metropolitan areas as Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Milwaukee -- may face elevated health risks from being exposed to dioxin, PCBs, pesticides, lead, mercury, or six other hazardous pollutants." Canadian biologist Michael Gilbertson, who was involved in reviewing the study, said it has been suppressed because it suggests that vulnerable populations have been harmed by industrial pollutants. "It's not good because it's inconvenient," Gilbertson said. "The whole problem with all this kind of work is wrapped up in that word 'injury.' If you have injury, that implies liability. Liability, of course, implies damages, legal processes, and costs of remedial action. The governments, frankly, in both countries are so heavily aligned with, particularly, the chemical industry, that the word amongst the bureaucracies is that they really do not want any evidence of effect or injury to be allowed out there."

Learn more about the study at the Center for Public Integrity.

Two Great Resources: Blue Thumb and Natural Step

I heard about these two resources from folks at the Buy Fresh Buy Local St. Croix Valley Steering Committee meeting, and I thought I would pass them on.

Natural Step is an international organization as well as an approach to problem solving for organizations, governments, and businesses. The "steps" are really a framework for transforming the way we do everything so as to make what we do more sustainable. I also think the steps themselves form a good definition of sustainability. The organization has resources to assist with the implementation of these steps. Many companies, including Smith and Hawken, Nike, and Ikea (to name just a few) are working with Natural Step. For now they seem to be only on the west coast in the U.S., but hopefully they'll make their way inland soon.





Blue Thumb is a project of the Rice Creek Watershed District, and it's a program to encourage people to garden with the preservation of our water resources in mind. They have great information about how to plant rain gardens to filter water that eventually cycles back into our homes, as well as how to garden with native plant varieties and to protect shorelines. This site is for every backyard gardener!

Livestock: The New Oil?

Caroline sent me this great article from the NY Times, and it couldn't have come at a more perfect time for me as I am just about to finish Ruth L. Ozeki's My Year of Meats. Ozeki's novel tells the story of two women struggling to find their voice in the face of male domination and violence which is a story that becomes mirrored in their relationship to meat and meat production. It's really brilliant -- it reminds me of The Sexual Politics of Meat by Carol Adams which very accurately documents the relationship between the sexualization and commodification of women's bodies and the bodies of animals.

Anyhoo. The article in the Times points out all the myriad reasons why the average American's consumption of meat is wholly unsustainable and ultimately barbaric in a world where so many are dying of hunger and malnutrition and the Earth's resources are running on empty. So, you should read it.

Film: "What a Way to Go"

In case you're not already scared enough about the future of our planet, here's a new film for you!

Wilderness Connections is hosting a screening:
Saturday, February 2nd, 10:30 - 1:00 p.m. Merriam Park Library (room
in lower level), Corner Fairview and Marshall Aves., St. Paul, MN

Think you can get 50-60 mpg in your Honda Accord? This guy can!

The average hybrid car driver gets around 40 miles per gallon, but Wayne Gerdes gets more than that in a regular ol' sedan! It's all in a technique called "hypermiling." Here's the article.

Also, the article talks about a guy called, simply "Hobbit." I'm pretty sure that's this guy. I could be wrong, but then again, how many men are there in the world that are obsessed with green technology and are named "hobbit?" (Nevermind -- I don't want to know!)