E THIS WEEK: Shoppers Choose Local

WHAT WE’RE FOLLOWING

Shoppers Choose Local

Forget the aisles stocked with organics. If local foods are not available, 30% of consumers will purchase groceries elsewhere, reports a new study released this month by global management consulting firm A.T. Kearney.

According to the study, named “Buying into the Local…

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Soil to Blame for Spike in Kids’ Lead Levels

Lead-contaminated dust is behind a seasonal fluctuation in blood-lead levels observed in children living in urban communities. A nine-year study recently published in Environmental Science & Technology tracked more than 367,000 children in Detroit along with atmospheric…

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FEATURED BLOGS

Talking Points

Obama has given Serious Lip Service to Combatting Global Warming — Is Action Soon to Follow?

The commencement of President Obama’s second term has been characterized by an abrupt shift towards climate rhetoric—rhetoric geared as much at pacifying the president’s environmentally conscious political supporters as at solidifying his own legacy. In not only his…

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IN OUR CURRENT ISSUE

Beauty and the Toxic Beast

Cosmetics Are Full of Harmful Ingredients—Here’s What to Avoid

Actress Kristen Chenoweth loves her beauty products, but she won’t be wearing a certain brand of eyelash extensions anymore. In March, the Emmy-award-winning actress discovered she had an allergy to formaldehyde, which was in the glue used to attach the lashes and caused…

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By the Numbers: Cape Wind Comes Online

130 Offshore Wind Turbines Are Ready to Rise in Nantucket Sound

130. That’s how many offshore wind turbines will be sited over a 24-square-mile grid on Nantucket Sound’s Horseshoe Shoal about five miles south of Hyannis, Massachusetts. Known as Cape Wind, the offshore wind farm is in its final victory lap after a decade of…

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Building National Support for Biking

The Federal Transportation Bill Extends an Olive Branch to Bikers.

Debate was long and intense on the reauthorization of the multi-year federal transportation bill. At one point, the Republican majority in the House eliminated all funding for bike and pedestrian enhancements. So it seemed like something of a victory when the final bill…

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Biking Together

Biking Is a Feasible Mode of Transportation for Just About Anyone

Have you given up on biking because it’s just not convenient enough as a working mom or dad, or you fear for your life pedaling alongside busy streets? Or maybe you’d like to bring your bike to work, but the train you commute on won’t let you? These are among the…

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EARTHTALK Q&A

Is Organic Food Any Healthier Than Conventionally-grown Food?

Dear EarthTalk: There’s been a lot of coverage on the topic of organic foods and how they aren’t actually any healthier than conventional foods. Is this true?

—Gina Thompson, Salem, OR<…

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The Environmental Justice Movement

Dear EarthTalk: I understand that the “environmental justice” movement defends poor, non-white communities that too often serve as sites for polluting industries such as sewage treatment plants, factories and landfills. Have there been any notable victories?

—P. Silver, Peekskill, NY…

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