Monthly Archives: February 2014

The New Yorker Discusses Scientist Tyrone Hayes’ Research on Atrazine

The New Yorker recently published an article about Tyrone Hayes, a biologist at the University of California, Berkeley. Since 1997, Hayes has focused his research on the health effects of exposure to atrazine, the most widely used herbicide in the … Continue reading

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Clean air, healthy heart

February is American Heart Month.  To honor it and make the case for how environmental laws lead to improved public health, the EPA created a new Public Service Announcement (PSA) about how air pollution affects heart health aimed at patients … Continue reading

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Alaska Making Headway on its Chemicals Bill

Newsflash from the Last Frontier:  The Toxic-Free-Children’s Act (SB 151) decribed in this earlier post received a hearing in the Senate Health and Social Services Committee on Wednesday and was speedily passed out of committee two days later.  Guest blogger … Continue reading

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Obama Visits Drought-Stricken California, Announces Climate Resilience Fund

During a recent visit to California, President Obama announced plans to help the farmers, small businesses, and communities that are being affected by the state’s drought. California is suffering through some of the driest years on record; nearly 99% of … Continue reading

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A Move Towards Transparency, or More of the Same?

Transparency and disclosure are regulatory buzz words, corresponding to demand for information about how the government makes decisions and the information used to justify those decisions. In an interesting turn of events, Republicans have begun to introduce or support bills … Continue reading

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Alaska Seeks to Join the Ranks of State Chemicals Regulators

Our favorite guest blogger, VLS alum Maricarmen Cruz-Guilloty, Environmental Health and Justice Coordinator at Alaska Community Action on Toxics (ACAT), reports that the Alaska Legislature will consider a bill about toxic chemicals in children’s products in 2014.  Senator Donny Olson, … Continue reading

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Fraud in Asbestos Litigation

Asbestos, a heat resistant mineral fiber, was commonly used as insulation and in manufactured goods as a fire retardant until it was banned for many of these uses in the 1970s. In 1989, EPA attempted to ban all products containing … Continue reading

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Study Finds Association Between Exposure to DDT and Alzheimer’s Disease

A recent study published in JAMA Neurology has identified one of the first environmental risk factors for Alzheimer’s by establishing an association between exposure to the pesticide DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) and Alzheimer’s disease. DDT was widely used as an agricultural insecticide … Continue reading

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