Environment

At 386 Million Years Old, New York Has The World's Oldest Forest

Scientists have discovered remnants of the world's oldest fossil forest in of all places, a sandstone quarry in Cairo, New York. It is believed the extensive network of trees is around 386 million years old and spread into Pennsylvania and beyond. ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 19 2019 - 9:26pm

Another Day, Another Statistical Claim About Pesticides And 'Risk' Of Death

To future scholars, the 2020s may be the decade that the public discovered epidemiologists don't understand the difference between a hazard, absolute risk, and relative risk. And that skepticism in the next decade will have resulted from too many shod ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Dec 31 2019 - 2:03pm

Genetically Rescued Organism: A GM Poplar That Produces Less Isoprene But Grows Just As Fast

Poplars have become popular for use in products like paper, pallets, plywood, furniture frames- even as a biofuel- because they grow quickly. But being natural doesn't mean being good for the environment. Poplars are a natural source of isoprene, whic ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 7 2020 - 10:53am

What Is Stevia And What Is The Science Behind It?

Stevia rebaudiana is part of the sunflower family (Asteraceae), like the daisy. It is native to Brazil and Paraguay, where the local populations have used it as a sweetener for as long as written records have been kept. ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 9 2020 - 9:43am

How Restricting Legal Trade In Endangered Species Backfires

Every year humans buy and sell hundreds of millions of wild animals and plants around the world. Much of this commerce is legal, but illegal trade and over-harvesting have driven many species toward extinction. One common response is to adopt bans on trad ...

Article - The Conversation - Jan 13 2020 - 11:24am

Finally, EPA Is Ending Regulation By 'Secret Sauce'- And Activists Are Livid

In 1984, activist groups won a stunning victory for political allies they had placed inside the Federal government. Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, Inc., 467 U.S. 837 gave "deference" to agencies when interpreting statu ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Jan 20 2020 - 3:01pm

Aflatoxins, Pesticides, GMOs And Cancer

As it turns out, there is a well-established relationship between pesticides, GMO crops, cancer and any number of other diseases, but it’s probably not the link that most people assume-- and certainly not what you read in the press these days. ...

Article - James Njoroge - Jan 28 2020 - 10:47am

Environmental Protection Agency Puts Some Sense Back Into Federal Water Rules

A few years ago, after concern about the administration's efforts to use EPA to pick and choose winners in the private sector reached a crescendo,  the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that EPA "violated publicity or propaganda and ant ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Jan 28 2020 - 10:51am

A Reason For More Farmed Salmon: 48 Million Wild Fish Per Year Just In Two Alaska Areas

A new analysis used Alaska Department of Fish and Game data and fish estimates from 2007 to 2016 to quantify the number and value of Pacific salmon harvested from streams, rivers, and lakes in Alaska. They estimate that it's 48,000,000 fish per year, ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Feb 10 2020 - 1:28pm

The Lack Of A Corporate Parent Will Doom Golden Rice, Say Critics

In the early days of the environmental war on agriculture, activists claimed they were not against the science itself, they were anti- corporate. They didn't want a company in charge of the food supply. The argument resonated with a lot of people, inc ...

Article - Hank Campbell - Feb 11 2020 - 7:31am