Environmental Health

"VATICAN CITY — For four long days, several dozen physical, environmental and social scientists hunkered here with theologians, philosophers, economists and a poverty campaigner to explore ways to balance human ambitions with the planet’s limits. The rare joint meeting of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences — “Sustainable Humanity, Sustainable Nature, Our Responsibility” — helped demarcate where science leaves off and the rest of society, including organized religion, plays a role in shaping the quality of human life and environmental conditions in this century."

"How broken is the nation's chemical-safety system? Of the 80,000 or so chemicals currently used in commerce, the Environmental Protection Agency has only tested 200 since Congress gave the agency its marching orders nearly four decades ago. And of the 200 tested chemicals, only five have been banned or regulated."

"An apple a day usually keeps the doctor away -- unless it's ridden with pesticides."

"Legislation to create national standards for regulating chemicals has generated opposition from some states, who fear the bill would curtail their authority to take action against chemicals they deem harmful."

"Resistance to antibiotics poses a 'major global threat' to public health, says a new report by the World Health Organization (WHO)."

"Almost 150 million people live in areas where air pollution levels are unhealthy to breathe, an increase from a previous American Lung Association report."

"A health registry could show trends of illnesses, collect data and potentially answer the question of whether fracking is safe — a debate currently characterized by emotional arguments with little reliable information."

"Water tainted by agricultural runoff is an old concern in rural Canada, but one that is becoming increasingly worrisome as the climate changes. Extreme weather events, such as sudden deluges and floods, increase the flow of pollutants into surface waters. Extended dry periods cause industrial and organic pollutants to build up on the land – then an intense rainstorm can wash it all at once into watersheds. Those storms also cause floods and erosion, which can overwhelm water-filtration systems. At the same time, river flows are declining and water is residing longer in lakes, concentrating pollutants."

"House Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee are warning that the GOP's second attempt to reform the nation's chemical laws could jeopardize state and local regulations on hydraulic fracturing."