Nuclear Prospects Unclear
| The Toyota Bus-Train A dual mode road/rail vehicle is being tested in Japan by Toyota and its truck-manufacturing division Hino Motors. The bus bridges the gap between road and rail with 4 rubber tires for road use and 4 steel wheels for riding on rails. It can hold 25 passengers and is based on the Toyota Microbus. [.] |
| U.S. Ecosystem Report Indicates Trouble Years of industrial and agricultural growth have left an indelible imprint on many formerly vibrant U.S. ecosystems. While nature is adept at resilience, the depletion and contamination of natural resources, especially water, may affect human health and wellbeing, a new report suggests. |
| Press Release: House Amends Nano Law to Strengthen Focus on Health, Environmental Risks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sharyn Stein, 202-572-3396, sstein@edf.org
Richard Denison, 202-387-3500, rdenison@edf.org
(Washington, D.C. – June 6, 2008) Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) applauded the U.S. House of Representatives today for passing the National Nanotechnology Initiative Amendments Act of 2008 (H.R. 5940) by a vote of 407-6. EDF says the measure will help address critical environmental, health and safety (EHS) concerns that could arise from use of nanotechnology. “The bill calls for much-needed changes both in the planning and decision-making processes of the NNI as they relate to EHS questions,” said Dr. Richard A. Denison, a senior scientist for Environmental Defense Fund. “It should also improve the extent and transparency of EHS-related information to be made publicly available. Overall, this bill should help substantially to achieve a better balance between the federal government’s dual roles in developing and advancing nanotechnology and in identifying and reducing its potential risks.”
EDF identified the following provisions as being particularly noteworthy:
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| Rich nations fail to take lead at climate talk: U.N. Industrialized nations are failing to lead enough at U.N. climate talks in Bonn even as developing states are showing interest in a new global warming treaty, the U.N.’s top climate official said on Wednesday.Yvo de Boer also predicted that U.S. climate policy would be more ambitious under either Democrat Barack Obama or Republican John McCain, the two main candidates to succeed President George W. Bush from January 2009. |
| Affordable DIY Solar Heating System Mother Earth News recently featured an extensive article covering instructions on building your own small-scale solar heating system for as low as $30. The 9 page tutorial includes step by step instructions from Don R. and George Waterman of Springfield, Missouri, and is based on their experience installing the system on their 30×40 insulated [.] |
| Nuclear Prospects Unclear Global nuclear power capacity grew by less than 2,000 megawatts in 2007, a figure equivalent to just one-tenth of the new wind power installed globally last year, according to the latest Vital Signs Update from the Worldwatch Institute. Global nuclear capacity stands at 372,000 megawatts, but ranks as the slowest growing energy source-just 0.5 percent in 2007, compared to wind at 27 percent. |
| Adverts urge world to axe CO2 to 1980s levels The world should cut the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere to below that of 20 years ago, more deeply than most government plans, to avoid the worst of climate change, a group of 150 advocates said on Monday. “We’ve gone too far — in a dangerous direction,” scientists, politicians, business leaders and others said in full-page advertisements in the Financial Times, the New York Times, the International Herald Tribune and two Swedish dailies. |