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A Not-So-New Role for Bisphenol A: Mammary Gland Carcinogen
By The Editors Bisphenol A (BPA) is not just a harmful chemical found in many plastic products — it’s also a news champion, and our guess is we’ll keep hearing about it for a long time. The latest? BPA may act as a complete mammary gland carcinogen. BPA is a known endocrine disruptor (a chemical able to interfere with the body’s…
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Ozone, Plants and Heat Waves: Team Players in Adverse Health Effects
By The Editors Ozone, the principal component of the mixture of air pollutants known as “smog“, is produced from the action of sunlight on air contaminants from automobile exhausts and other sources. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) “Ozone in the air we breathe can harm our health—typically on hot, sunny days when ozone can reach unhealthy levels.…
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The Global Threat of Substandard and Falsified Medicines
By The Editors Treatment with poor quality medicines — substandard and falsified (fake) medicines — is a significant cause of harm to human populations worldwide. According to a report released on February 13, 2013, by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies “Falsified and substandard medicines provide little protection from disease and, worse, can expose consumers to major harm.…
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Plastic Debris and Great Garbage Patches: Ca’ Foscari University Raises Awareness of Ocean Pollution
By Roberta Attanasio When we think of the Great Garbage Patches — of which 5 exist — we usually think of ocean pollution. Now, when thinking of garbage patches and ways to raise awareness of them, we may think of Venice and Ca’ Foscari University. Venice, the Italian city that seems to float on water, bears no resemblance to the…
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Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Effect and Greening of Deserts
By The Editors Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide levels (CO2) are greening our deserts — in other words, many of the planet’s arid environments are greener than they would otherwise be if CO2 had remained constant. The greening of our deserts is due to the so-called CO2 fertilization effect, which can be defined as the enhancement of photosynthesis caused by rising CO2 levels…
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Arsenic in Chickens: Finding More of What Is Already Known
By The Editors Despite the high toxicity of arsenic, there are arsenical drugs — in other words, there are drugs that contain arsenic. One of these drugs, roxarsone, is used in chicken feeds to kill intestinal parasites, promote growth (make the chicken grow faster) and improve pigmentation (make meat look pinker). Roxarsone contains organic arsenic, which is much less toxic than…
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Sustainability in Action: Mushrooms Replace Polystyrene Packaging
By The Editors We’re all familiar with polystyrene, one of the most widely used plastics. Because polystyrene can be easily cast into molds with fine detail, it has a zillion uses and you can find it everywhere. Think of protective packaging products such as packing peanuts (foam peanuts), clamshell containers, CD and DVD cases, lids, bottles, trays and more. Polystyrene is…
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What is Greenwashing?
By The Editors Greenwashing (or greenwash) is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.” In other words, the term “greenwashing” applies to the attempts made by companies, organizations or political entities to falsely promote products, services or programs as environmentally friendly, or to deflect attention from environmentally unfriendly…
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Gourmet Grasshoppers and Designer Breeders
By The Editors It’s all about raising awareness and providing the necessary tools to make it globally feasible, bringing to the Western world what is common in many other places around the globe: eating insects, or better eating gourmet insect meals. In a previous post (Edible Insects: Will They Become a Global Diet Staple?) we wrote: “The human population keeps growing…
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The Worldwide Obesity Epidemic: Links to Bisphenol A
By The Editors In a previous post, we discussed globesity – the escalating global epidemic of overweight and obesity – and said that controlling globesity requires a variety of approaches, including the understanding of the association between obesity and exposure to environmental pollutants. There are many widespread environmental pollutants that may be contributing to the development of obesity. One of these…
