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	ENN: Pollution
	updated: Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:45:51 GMT

Europe to target pharmaceutical pollution with new water quality rules

The European Commission has unveiled a new set of water pollution rules, which will for the first time include certain pharmaceutical products. The Commission is proposing to add 15 chemicals to the list of 33 pollutants that are currently monitored and controlled in EU surface waters. The popular pain-relieving drug Diclofenac is one of three pharmaceuticals to be put on the European water watch-list, which law-makers say is another step towards improving the quality of rivers, lakes and coastal waters. The 15 substances include industrial chemicals as well as compounds used in biocides and plant protection products. They have been selected on the basis of scientific evidence that they may pose a significant risk to health.

Canada Uranium and Other Mines: The Future

Canada was the world's largest uranium producer for many years, accounting for about 22% of world output, but in 2009 was overtaken by Kazakhstan. Production is expected to increase significantly from 2013 as the new Cigar Lake mine comes into operation. Canada is also a large producer of many other mineral products. The problem is that many mining operations produce significant amounts of waste in an environment with a fragile ecosystem and limited resources to deal with environmental issues. While the government of Canada has introduced legislation to ensure that at least some of the costs associated with reclamation are accounted for in future developments, critics believe there are still serious risks.

NASA Confirms Man's role in Global Warming

A new NASA study confirms the fact that greenhouse gases generated by human activity - not changes in solar activity - are the primary force driving global warming. The study offers an updated calculation of the Earth's energy imbalance, the difference between the amount of solar energy absorbed by Earth's surface and the amount returned to space as heat. The researchers' calculations show that, despite unusually low solar activity between 2005 and 2010, the planet continued to absorb more energy than it returned to space. James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York City, led the research. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics recently published the study.

Do Pollutants Cause Breast Cancer?

Breast cancer is partly caused by toxic chemicals in the environment, according to a recent study by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). These pollutants are surprisingly common, and most women are exposed to them from a variety of sources. Carcinogenic pollutants come from radiation and from consumer products. They are in household cleaning products, microwaves, cosmetics, hairsprays, and refrigerators. These chemicals seep into water as runoff from landfills, affect people as well as animals, and have been shown to cause breast cancer in women. The Breast Cancer Action Foundation believes that the environmental factor has been overlooked in research, and that its influence has been grossly underestimated.

Palm Oil Biodiesel and greenhouse gas emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions from palm oil-based biodiesel are the highest among major biofuels when the effects of deforestation and peatlands degradation are considered, according to calculations by the European Commission. The emissions estimates, which haven't been officially released, have important implications for the biofuels industry in Europe. As reported by EurActiv, the data from the E.U. shows emissions from biofuels produced from palm oil (105g of carbon dioxide equivalent per megajoule of fuel), soybeans (103g CO2e/mj), and rapeseed (canola) (95g CO2e/mj) are higher than conventional gasoline (87.5g CO2e/mj). Sunflower (86g CO2e/mj) and biodiesel produced from palm oil with methane capture (83g CO2e/mj) are only slightly better than conventional crude oil, according to the data.

	BBC News - Science & Environment
	updated: Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:45:52 GMT

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 09:35:10 GMT Striking galaxy image from Hubble

The Hubble space telescope captures an image of a "barred spiral" galaxy that could help us better understand our own Milky Way.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 10:15:02 GMT Largest optical telescope created

Astronomers at the Paranal observatory combine four telescope to create the world's largest virtual device with a 130m-mirror.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 00:44:01 GMT Prince optimistic for fisheries

Prince Charles says there is a reason to be optimistic about the state of the world's oceans, but it is "critically urgent" to tackle overfishing.

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:07:13 GMT Malaria toll 'is twice as high'

The number of deaths worldwide from malaria has been underestimated, according to data published in the medical journal the Lancet.

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 19:03:24 GMT Brains may be wired for addiction

Abnormalities in the brain may make some people more likely to become drug addicts, according to scientists.

	EarthWire UK
	updated: Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:45:53 GMT

2011-10-04T00:00:00-00:00 RHI put back to November start date

2011-09-30T00:00:00-00:00 Report stresses benefits of European energy 'supergrid'

2011-09-08T00:00:00-00:00 Renewables certification for Tesco

2011-09-08T00:00:00-00:00 Plans unveiled to develop wind farm in Scotland

2011-09-08T00:00:00-00:00 Social tenants to get renewable heating systems

	Press releases by RSS
	updated: Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:45:54 GMT

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:31:39 +0100 Chris Huhne resignation - Friends of the Earth reaction

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:10:49 +0100 Pickles waste scheme - Friends of the Earth reaction

Fri, 03 Feb 2012 11:06:52 +0100 Prince of Wales' fish protection plan welcomed

#hrhfish #fish

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:02:02 +0100 Biofuels con could cost UK motorists an extra £2bn per year

#Biofuels emissions equiv to 6m extra cars on our roads

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 10:29:13 +0100 MPs warn over UK flood management

Flooding threatens millions of homes next to our coastlines

	NASA Earth Observatory
	updated: Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:45:55 GMT

Earth, Behind the Scenes

NASA's newest Earth-observing satellite, Suomi NPP, collected the images that went into this new view of our home planet.

Dust over the Arabian Peninsula

Likely fed by the Empty Quarter, a dust storm sweeps across the Arabian Peninsula in this image from February 2, 2012.

Puyehue-Cordón Caulle

As the eruption continues into its eighth month, ash has coated and damaged the forest downwind of the volcano plume.

100 Years at Kilauea

January 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory, situated on the rim of Kilauea Caldera.

New posts in the Earth Matters blog - News Roundup: A Less Hardy Hardiness Map, Arctic...

	Animal Concerns News Service
	updated: Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:45:55 GMT

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST Dog rescued after being thrown from truck

A good Samaritan called county Animal Care and Control Officers and the Miamisburg Police after witnessing the female boxer being thrown onto the road from a moving red pickup truck.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST Vegan and gluten-free: It can be done

The objective of the book, Bennett says, is to let people know that eating vegan and gluten-free can be delicious and not as restrictive as some may think.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST KY Proposal Would Allow Hunting Bears With Dogs

It would create a season of about six-weeks starting in August where hunters could chase bears but not kill them. The proposal also includes another limited season in December where hunters could shoot the bears that their dogs bay.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST Stabbed puppy has a new owner

After being stabbed and tossed in a city trash container by its previous owner, a female puppy that received national attention for its abuse and recovery was placed in a permanent home Friday.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST Monks go from egg farm to growing mushrooms

Five years after an animal rights group complained about the treatment of chickens at an egg farm run by a Roman Catholic abbey in South Carolina, the monks are now earning their daily bread by growing mushrooms.

	EnviroLink News Service
	updated: Sat, 04 Feb 2012 07:45:55 GMT

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST Oil sands pipeline battle turns ugly.

Canada let loose an extraordinary rant against opponents of a controversial project to pump tar sands crude to Pacific Coast ports on Monday, accusing campaigners of colluding with foreign "radicals" and "jet-setting celebrities" to hijack the government.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST DEP's Marcellus Shale drilling numbers do not add up.

Research by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette shows that there are 495 more wells producing gas, or ready to produce gas, than DEP has recorded as ever being drilled, and 182 of those wells don't even show up on the state's Marcellus Shale permit list.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST Fracking moratorium urged as doctors call for health study.

The U.S. should declare a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in populated areas until the health effects are better understood, doctors said at a conference on the drilling process.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST Study: Warming Arctic Is Decimating Harp Seal Populations

Scientists from Duke University and the International Fund for Animal Welfare have conducted a study of the harp seal in northern Canada. Harp seals, the cute and cuddly creatures, have long been hunted for their prized furs. To add to their struggle, the thinning ice is playing havoc with their breeding ground. Female seals depend on stable winter ice to give birth and feed their young in peace. Forced to go to ice closer to land, the baby seals are sitting ducks for arctic predators and human hunters. The seal pups are being forced to fend for themselves before they are ready. As a result, their populations are dropping catastrophically.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 02:45:50 EST EPA's Toxics Release Inventory doesn't offer full picture of pollution.

The EPA has unveiled its analysis of the 2010 Toxics Release Inventory, a database on the disposal or release of 650 potentially dangerous chemicals used by almost 21,000 facilities. But it provides only a snapshot of the pollution produced by American industry, and estimates in some cases dramatically understate the extent of pollution.