Environmental

Dear EarthTalk: What is being done to get toxic flame retardants out of children’s furniture and other products?  – Mary Sweetland, Seminole, FL Putting flame retardants in furniture seemed like a good idea back in the 1970s to help protect against the risk of fire, but our insistence on safety has come back to haunt us. The chemicals “off-gassing” from …

  Dear EarthTalk: What’s the skinny on fat these days? I saw a major magazine cover image recently that was suggesting fat wasn’t so bad for us after all?   – Marcy Bellwether, Taos, NM Going “fat-free” might seem like an effective, safe way to lose weight when considering that fat contains nine calories per gram, compared to four calories per …

Dear EarthTalk: What is the “Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives?” – Meredith LaGarde, New Orleans, LA The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a non-profit dedicated to protecting human health and the environment through research, education and advocacy, launched its “Dirty Dozen Guide to Food Additives” in November 2014 to educate consumers about which food additives are associated with health concerns, which are …

YONKERS POLICE DEPARTMENT UPDATE YONKERS, NY — December 31, 2014 — 3:29 p.m. — On December 29,2014, at 7:30 a.m., numerous YPD units responded to 1 Engine Place (Chicken Island) on a report of a dumping complaint. Arriving units located a large amount of compacted garbage left in the Chicken Island parking lot. New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) …

Dear EarthTalk: Are there still outspoken global warming deniers in Congress or the mainstream media? If so, what do they say when presented with scientific facts and anecdotal evidence pointing to an increasingly warming atmosphere? –Ben Charles, Cary, NC Given the preponderance of data showing rising temperatures around the globe in recent decades—along with the increasing frequency of extreme weather events—it’s …

Dear EarthTalk: What is biochar and how can it help reduce my carbon footprint?       – William Jarvis, Bethlehem, PA Biochar is a naturally occurring, fine-grained, highly porous form of charcoal derived from the process of baking biomass—and it’s been associated with fertile soils for some two thousand years. “Biochar is found in soils around the world as a result of …

INTRODUCTION: Climate talks are underway in Lima, Peru. But the world’s water crisis isn’t a key part of those talks, despite climate change’s threat to the world’s rivers. In the U.S., record floods and drought now annually do multi-billion dollar damage to rivers – harming drinking water supplies, the economy, agriculture, energy, transportation and recreation. Blue Ridge Press editor Glenn Scherer …

Dear EarthTalk: I know that some large buildings filter some of their wastewater to irrigate exterior landscaping. Is there an affordable way to do this at home? – Bill P., Salem, OR Now that solar panels are so commonplace on rooftops across the country, reusing so-called greywater—that is, the waste water from sinks, showers, tubs and washing machines—for landscape irrigation …

Granville Beach was a secluded swimming hole on a snaky bend of the White River, the ideal place to meet Vermont neighbors on a hot summer day before 2011’s Hurricane Irene. Now, the sandy shore, deep waters overhung with box elders, streamside wildflowers, and the lively buzz of riparian birds and dragonflies are gone. Replaced by a shallow channel choked …

Dear EarthTalk: I’ve heard that the price of getting solar panels installed on a home is lower than ever, but has it gotten to the point anywhere in the U.S. where it’s actually cheaper than traditional grid power yet?         – Lester Milstein, Boston, MA     The cost of electricity derived from residential rooftop solar panels could achieve “price parity” …