A team of international researchers at the MIT Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences have discovered a potentially harmful greenhouse gas, known as Sulfuryl Fluoride, within the atmosphere. The bad news is it is 4,800 times worse than CO2, but the good news is it has been caught early enough in the game that the researchers do not think that it is going to be a major problem.
Sulfuryl fluoride is a gas fumigant that has been used -- since the 1950s -- to kill bugs and rodents in indoor structures, such as homes, warehouses, and railroad cars.
Up until recently, federal guidelines prohibited food-related uses of sulfuryl fluoride. This prohibition, however, has recently been rescinded -- due to an intensive lobbying effort from DOW AgroSciences.
Since companies are not required to remove food from the premises before fumigating, fumigations with sulfuryl fluoride produce high levels of fluoride residues "in or on" the stored foods. According to recent regulations approved by EPA, it is now acceptable for fumigations to produce fluoride residues of 70 ppm "in or on" all processed foods (except for the processed foods otherwise specified), 130 ppm "in or on" wheat, and 900 ppm "in or on" dried eggs.
NRC panel member Kathleen M. Thiessen, senior scientist at SENES Oak Ridge Inc., Center for Risk Analysis, presented clear evidence that water with about 1 mg/L of fluoride or more presents potential risks to the thyroid gland.
"Many Americans are exposed to fluoride in the ranges associated with thyroid effects, especially for people with an iodine deficiency," Thiessen said. "The average adult exposure is around 0.03 mg/kg/day, and the levels of exposure at which one sees thyroid effects in some individuals with an iodine deficiency are right around that same range," she said. A low level of thyroid hormone can increase the risk of cardiac disease, high cholesterol, depression, and, in pregnant women, decreased intelligence of offspring, she said.
Over 2,000 professionals have signed a STATEMENT being distributed by the Fluoride Action Network (FAN) calling for an end to water fluoridation worldwide. Signers include a Nobel Prize winner, three members of the landmark 2006 National Research Council report on fluoride's toxicology, three officers in the Union representing professionals at EPA headquarters, the Executive Board of the American Academy of Environmental Medicine, leading fluoride researchers, and medical, dental, scientific and environmental professionals from around the world.
You can travel on over to the EIP's website. Or you can read the official report for yourself, but here are the cliffnotes.
Essentially, there are less suits and circumstances being dealt to polluters. In fact, the numbers have fallen by more than half over the last 8 years. This means that less action is being taken to help the environment. Because let's face it, there is not 50% less pollution in the environment, so there is no reason for being less proactive in cleaning up our air and earth.
Not to completely bash the current leader of laws, since pollution-control equipment has grown expoentially. But I do think more needs to be done and it needs to be consistent. There's my Sunday morning rant. =o)
The Supreme Court has really been taking things over this week. It looks like in many small ways, the government is really trying to make an effort in helping to save the environment.
Basically what has happened is states wanting automobile emission standards to be more strict than those set by the federal government are allowed to pursue them. So it removes an obstacle.
"I am very encouraged by the U.S. Supreme Court's decision today that greenhouse gases are pollutants and should be regulated by the federal government," said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger of California, a Republican. "We expect the U.S. E.P.A. to move quickly now in granting our request for a waiver."
How awesome is that!? Perhaps more action stars need to take on political offices. And yes, California is one of the states who is already taking steps to raise auto-emission standards. Excellent!
The Supreme Court "overturned a lower court ruling and declared that Duke Energy did indeed violate the Clean Air Act when it modernized coal plants without paying for pollution-reduction equipment."
*high fives all around*
The emissions from Duke Energy are linked to health problems in the area such as heart disease and respiratory ailments.
