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'Scientists Increasingly Link Vehicle Exhaust With Brain-Cell Damage, Higher Rates of Autism'

Universities like Penn State take money from gas and oil companies to do research on the Marcellus Shale, raising issues about conflict of interest. The universities' secrecy makes it worse.

An independent EPA science panel has taken issue with EPA's longstanding conclusion that Atrazine, the second most widely used pesticide on US farms, is not likely to cause cancer.

'About one tenth of China's farmland is polluted by lead, zinc and other heavy metals to 'striking' levels exceeding official limits, a government expert said according to reports on Monday.'

'Prime Minister Julia Gillard says the passing of her government's carbon tax is a major milestone in Australia's efforts to cut carbon pollution.'

'The State Department's inspector general will conduct a special investigation of the handling of the pending decision on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline in response to reports of improper pressure on policy makers and possible conflicts of interest, according to documents released on Monday.'

'A 300-square-mile portion of the Pine Island Glacier is expected to break off in the next few months, creating a massive Antarctic iceberg. The glacier is contributing the sea-level rise.'

As the Supercommittee casts about for ways to reduce the federal deficit, the massive taxpayer subsidies for massively profitable oil and gas companies have been mentioned as a possible cut. The industry has mounted a big ad campaign and media blitz to deny that the subsidies are real.

The Martins, a Latino family who live in Maywood, California, 10 minutes from downtown Los Angeles amid a sea of heavy industry, suffered from a variety of chronic sicknesses. Test results finally showed "The Martin family had traces of eight dangerous heavy metals and 17 industrial byproducts in their bodies. Levels of arsenic, chromium, mercury, manganese and vanadium were far higher than for most Americans."

"Whitebark pines may be among the earliest victims of a warming climate in the Northwest, as rising temperatures at higher elevations have brought the trees into contact with the destructive mountain pine beetle."

Craig Welch reports for the Seattle Times November 7, 2011.