9 JUN 2022
What If?
Bill McKibben on the Road Not Taken.
7 FEB 2022
Pentachlorophenol on the Way Out
U.S. EPA has announced that it will cancel the registration of pentachlorophenol, a common wood preservative. U.S. EPA has determined that the risks associated with pentachlorophenol are greater than the benefits, especially considering that alternatives are available. Wood treatment facilities can continue to purchase pentachlorophenol for the next two years while exploring and switching to alternatives, and will have a further three years to use existing stocks.
11 SEPTEMBER 2021
Alternatives to Lawns
An interesting story about one person's struggle to provide a bit of habitat in the big city. The authorities are not amused!
30 AUGUST 2021
The End of Leaded Gas? Not Quite.
The headline on NPR reads (in part) The World Has Finally Stopped Using Leaded Gasoline. Because lead exposure causes serious health problems, the end of leaded gasoline use would be very good news indeed, but it isn't quite true. Several paragraphs into the article we learn that leaded gasoline is still used by some airplanes and off-road vehicles. I think about that whenever I see a piston-powered airplane pass overhead, and imagine tiny lead particles raining down on those of us below. Still, this is a good development, as far as it goes.