GM corn is destroying US rivers

(NaturalNews) New research reveals that genetically-modified organisms (GMOs) are destroying both human health and the environment. According to Emma Rosi-Marshall from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies in Millbrook, N.Y., GM corn crops are leeching a toxic bacterial gene into the environment, polluting waterways and rivers across the U.S. More than 85 percent of the U.S. corn crop in 2009 was GM. This GM corn contains a gene called Bacillus thuriengensis (Bt) that has been injected into it to repels pests like the corn borer beetle. Each kernel of corn literally grows a pesticide protein inside it called Cry1Ab that deters and kill pests. Besides the fact that eating such corn is obviously toxic, the residue of this built-in pesticide also ends up covering large swaths of U.S. farmland. After the corn is harvested, husks, stalks and other residue doused and bred with pesticides end up getting carried away by rain, snow and other environmental factors into nearby rivers and streams “Our research adds to the growing body of evidence that corn crop byproducts can be dispersed throughout a stream network, and that the compounds associated with genetically modified crops, such as insecticidal proteins, can enter nearby water bodies,” Rosi-Marshall is quoted as saying in a recent article in The Independent . Tests revealed that every stream with detectable levels of GM pesticides was located within roughly 1,600 feet of a GM corn field. And roughly 90 percent of the streams and rivers in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana — three states that grow large amounts of GM crops — are located within this distance, indicating a serious problem. “The tight linkage between corn fields and streams warrants further research into how corn byproducts, including Cry1Ab insecticidal proteins, potentially impact non-target ecosystems, such as streams and wetlands,” said Dr. Rosi-Marshall. Sources for this story include: http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/nature/gm-maize-has-polluted-rivers-across-the-united-states-2091300.html

Want to conserve energy and resources? Stop wasting food

(NaturalNews) Supporting renewable and alternative sources of energy, recycling and driving your car less, are a few commonly-known and practical ways to improve the quality of the environment and conserve valuable resources. But a new study published in the journal Environmental Science and Technology has found that if Americans would simply stop wasting food, the nation could save the equivalent of 350 million barrels of oil a year. Being a good food steward is never talked about in the mainstream media as a solution to the world’s energy and environmental problems, but it is actually one of the simplest ways to make a significant impact, and it costs nothing. In fact, if more people stopped throwing away good food, they would actually save more money in the long run. According to Michael Webber, Ph.D., and Amanda Cuellar from the University of Texas at Austin (UTA), authors of the study, up to 16 percent of the energy used in the U.S. in 2007 went towards food production. This includes food preparation, preservation, packaging and shipping. But according to estimates from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the average American wastes roughly 27 percent of it, which is the equivalent of two percent of annual energy consumption in the U.S. “The energy embedded in wasted food represents a substantial target for decreasing energy consumption in the U.S.,” stated the authors in their paper. And the real figures are likely even higher that those given in the report, considering the data is both outdated and incomplete. An earlier NaturalNews article from 2007 explained that food waste rates in the U.K. are even worse than in the U.S., estimated at roughly 30 percent. http://www.naturalnews.com/022424_food_waste_advertising.html Sources for this story include: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/acs-apw093010.php

Most of the world’s rivers threatened by pesticides, pollution

(NaturalNews) The vast majority of the world’s rivers are threatened by pollution, pesticide runoff and destructive species, say researchers from The City College (CCNY) of The City University of New York (CUNY), the University of Wisconsin and seven other institutions. And not only is the integrity of the world’s water at heightened risk, but so are countless aquatic species that rely on the threatened habitats for survival. Published in the journal Nature , the study explains that the threats come from a multitude of different sources, and that an independent, reactive approach to dealing with them is not going to work. A more holistic approach is required, say scientists, if the problems have any chance of ever being remediated. “We can no longer look at human water security and biodiversity threats independently,” said Dr. Charles Vorosmarty, director of the CUNY Environmental CrossRoads Initiative and professor of civil engineering at The Grove School of Engineering at CCNY. “We need to link the two.” One example cited is the fact that while water reservoirs are largely beneficial to humans because they supply clean water, they simultaneously alter the biodiversity of aquatic life by changing water migration patterns. So evaluating these issues and coming up with long-term solutions to benefit both humans and the environment are necessary, they say. According to the team, nearly all European water resources are highly threatened by environmental factors, as are most in the U.S. Central Asia, the Middle East, subcontinent India and eastern China are also increasingly threatened as they continue to develop. Both industrialized and developing countries are experiencing the same threats, but the two handle them differently. Industrialized nations tend to treat the symptoms of the problem after the fact — which is very costly — while developing nations, if they do anything at all, tend towards protecting the resources in the first place. Sources for this story include: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-09/ccon-gsf092410.php

Pesticides may be a leading cause of major diseases

(NaturalNews) Chronic illness is widespread in many industrialized nations like the U.S., and more studies than ever are linking this disease epidemic to pesticide exposure. According to a new database designed to catalog these studies, pesticides are linked to cancer, reproductive dysfunction, diabetes, autism, asthma, birth defects, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases and more. Beyond Pesticides, an environmental and public health group, decided to put together the Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database to raise awareness about the dangers of pesticides and to urge policy changes to get these chemicals removed from use. “A read through of the scientific literature on pesticides and major preventable diseases afflicting us in the 21st century suggests that one of the first responses called for is an all out effort to stop using toxic pesticides,” explained Jay Feldmen, executive director of Beyond Pesticides. The group believes that current risk-assessment methods to determine the safety of chemicals is a failure because it does not look at potential alternatives. Many of the currently-used toxic pesticides have effective green alternatives that are safe, so there is no reason why these are not currently in use, suggests the group. “Under risk assessment, we constantly play with ‘mitigation measures’ that the Pesticide-Induced Diseases Database tells us over and over is a failed human experiment,” Feldmen further opined. Beyond Pesticides hopes to see current risk assessment methods replaced by an alternatives assessment approach. Organic systems, for instance, perform far better than many of the high-chemical pesticide systems currently in use, and they do not harm the environment or consumers. The group has also put together a helpful guide called Organic Food: Eating with a Conscience , which expands upon how and why pesticides are harming life and the environment. This guide can be found at: http://www.beyondpesticides.org/organicfood/conscience/index.htm Sources for this story include: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/studies-link-range-of-major-diseases-to-pesticides-new-database-launched-100982694.html

Companies may soon be required to prove chemical safety before use

(NaturalNews) There is a new piece of legislation before Congress that will require chemical manufacturers to prove that an industrial chemical is safe before they can use it in products. The Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 will grant more power to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate chemicals and will update the antiquated Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 to keep up with the times. According to environmental advocates, the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 is inadequate at protecting both people and the environment from toxic chemicals because the thousands of new chemicals that have been created since its passage are excluded from its mandates. The EPA has also failed to ban any chemicals under the old act. “[O]ver the years, not only has [the Toxic Substances Control Act] fallen behind the industry it is intended to regulate, it has also proven an inadequate tool for providing the protection against chemical risks that the public rightfully expects,” explained Steve Owens, assistant administrator of the EPA’s office of chemical safety and pollution prevention department. The Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 will update current laws to grant the EPA the ability to require more safety information from chemical manufacturers. The EPA will also be given more power to restrict and ban unsafe chemicals from use. As it currently stands, the burden of proof is on the EPA to prove that a chemical is unsafe after manufacturers begin using it, but the new bill will rightfully shift that burden to chemical manufacturers, requiring them to prove that a chemical is safe before being able to use it. Sources for this story include: http://www.gossipjackal.com/health/2010/08/01/new-legislation-will-require-companys-to-prove-chemicals-safety/ http://www.automatedtrader.net/real-time-dow-jones/8709/epa-urges-house-to-pass-bill-on-toxic-substances-control

Clementine Art, the natural alternative to toxic art supplies

(NaturalNews) Paints, glues, crayons, markers: many of these things purchased conventionally contain artificial chemical dyes, petrochemicals and other unknown ingredients, despite bearing a non-toxic label. Millions of children use such art supplies every day in preschool, art class and at home, and are unwittingly exposed to unknown levels of contaminants. Fortunately, there is a safe alternative. Diana Mercer is a teacher of young children in art and founder of Clementine Art, a natural children’s art supply company. For many years, she has helped children express their creative intuitions through art, but became concerned over what hidden ingredients might be lurking in the supposed non-toxic art supplies she was using. She began to create her own art supplies from the natural ingredients in her kitchen as an alternative, which eventually birthed into Clementine Art. Today, the company produces truly natural, non-toxic modeling dough, glue, crayons, paints, crayons and markers. All of the products are certified non-toxic, environmentally-friendly and free of artificial colors and dyes. Unlike conventional brands, Clementine Art products bear full ingredient labels that disclose every ingredient. Clementine’s modeling dough, for example, is composed of simple ingredients like flour and water, similar to what is found in natural baked bread. The dough is colored using natural foods like turmeric, carmine, annatto and spinach, and is scented using natural scents like strawberry, lemon and lime. Similarly, Clementine’s natural paints are colored using earth-based, non-toxic mineral pigments, as are the company’s markers and crayons. All of these contain absolutely no chemical dyes or other artificial additives. “Clementine’s creamy, natural crayons are made from kosher soy wax and mineral pigments. Conventional crayons are made from paraffin wax, a petroleum product,” explains Mercer about the superiority of her crayons. “The use of soy in our product is better for your child’s health and better for the environment since soy is a sustainable crop.” Clementine also makes soy-based crayon rocks which were designed by an early childhood educator to encourage motor and writing skills in small children. Their unique design facilitates young children in learning how to shade, draw lines and mix colors. Clementine Art also makes a safe, non-toxic glue that is composed of natural bio-polymers rather than animal adhesives. It will not cause harm to a child if ingested, and like the other Clementine products, it contains no artificial colors or dyes. Mercer truly believes in her products and is enthusiastic about being able to provide a safe alternative for children. “Clementine Art products help to develop your child’s creative voice. Our unique, engaging and natural art supplies will inspire your children naturally and safely,” she says. To learn more about Clementine Art, please visit www.clementineart.com.

Breeding Better Broccoli: Research Points To Pumped Up Lutein Levels In Broccoli

Plant carotenoids are the most important source of vitamin A in the human diet and are considered to be valuable antioxidants capable of protecting humans from chronic diseases including macular degeneration, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Researchers investigating the carotenoid content of field-grown broccoli discovered that when it comes to breeding broccoli, lutein levels were linked to the plants’ genetics; the environment in which the vegetables were grown had little effect on carotenoid production.

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