Environmental News: November 13 - November 19, 2009

EU's Eco-Labeling Scheme To Tackle More Products
18-Nov-09

Pete Harrison
BRUSSELS - Windows, taps and home insulation will in future have to carry energy performance labels in the European Union after EU negotiators reached a deal on Tuesday.
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Fishing Body Agrees To Cut In Atlantic Tuna Quota
November 18, 2009
RECIFE - Fishing nations agreed on Sunday to cut by about a third the quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna, a giant fish prized by sushi lovers, numbers of which have been decimated by commercial catches.
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In Amazon, A Frustrated Search For Cancer Cures
November 18, 2009
SAO SEBASTIAO DE CUIEIRAS - The task of harvesting the secrets of Brazil's vast Amazon rain forest that could help in the battle against cancer largely falls to Osmar Barbosa Ferreira and a big pair of clippers.
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Tidal Power Turbines Producing More Energy Than Expected
18-Nov-09
Timothy Hurst - Matter Network
Speaking recently at the Lisbon International Ocean Power Conference, Peter Fraenkel, Technical Director and co-founder of Marine Current Turbines (MCT), the UK-based company that designed and developed SeaGen, the world's only commercial scale tidal stream turbine, told delegates that "We are delighted with SeaGen's performance.
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Lead poisoning predicted to rise in developing countries
Nov 17, 2009
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. Nov. 16, 2009 - Widespread lead poisoning will result from the planned distribution of a billion computers to developing countries by technology companies and charities, according to a new study.
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Mexican island renamed for Jacques Cousteau
Mexico City, Nov 17, 2009
Cerralvo, an uninhabited island in the Sea of Cortez, starting Tuesday will be called Jacques Cousteau, the INEGI statistics institute said Tuesday.
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Ice retreat creates new CO2 store
November 17, 2009
By Mark Kinver
Science and environment reporter, BBC News
Retreating ice in Antarctic has allowed tiny aquatic plants to flourish and absorb 3.5 million tonnes of carbon from the ocean and atmosphere annually.
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Household Toxics Reach Babies Even in Womb, Researchers Find
November 17, 2009
It is one of the worst nightmares for a mother-to-be: She's poisoning the baby in her belly, and there is little she can do about it.
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Nanosilver in consumer products: No silver lining for fish
By Gordon Shetler
Environmental Health News
Nov. 17, 2009
Smaller than a virus and used in more than 200 consumer products, silver nanoparticles can kill and mutate fish embryos, new research shows.
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A glut of mercury raises fears
November 17, 2009
By Kari Lydersen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Over the past decade, environmental groups have pressured U.S. chlorine plants to stop spewing mercury, the toxic heavy metal that settles in water and makes its way into the food chain by contaminating fish and shellfish.
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Chevron's lobbying campaign backfires
November 16, 2009
Facing the possibility of a $27 billion pollution judgment against it in an Ecuadorean court, Chevron launched an aggressive lobbying and public relations campaign to try to prevent the judgment as well as reverse a deeply damaging story line.
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Jellyfish swarm northward in warming world
Nov 16, 2009
By MICHAEL CASEY
KOKONOGI, Japan – A blood-orange blob the size of a small refrigerator emerged from the dark waters, its venomous tentacles trapped in a fishing net.
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Pew Environment Group Urges Stronger Action to Save Bluefin Tuna and Sharks, Regrets Failure of International Fisheries Commission
11/15/2009
Porto de Galinhas, Brazil
After meeting for ten days, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) refused to end fishing for Atlantic bluefin tuna.
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Coral reefs declining faster than rainforests
November 15, 2009
Today, many of our planet's natural areas are seriously threatened by human incursion, overexploitation and global warming: Less than a fifth of the world's original forest cover remains in unfragmented tracts, while just one-third of coastal mangroves survive to protect coastlines from storms and erosion. But none of these are declining as rapidly as coral reefs.
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Taking On Mountains—and Toxic Chemicals
Nov 14, 2009
Three decades after leading a charge against the use of toxic chemicals in consumer products, Arlene Blum is back in the fight.
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Al Gore Addresses Green Building Community at Greenbuild
Nov 13, 2009
Jessalyn Dingwell in Sustainable Building, matter
On November 11, former Vice President Al Gore delivered a keynote speech to builders, architects, contractors and other professionals involved in the green building industry at Chase Field in Phoenix. 
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Message of Mérida: Saving Wild Places Will Save the Planet
November 13, 2009 (ENS)
By Greg Harman

For the first time in decades, the eggs of endangered sea turtles buried on a small strip of Nicaraguan beach will not be collected and sold in local food markets.
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Pervasive Plastics: Why the U.S. Needs New and Tighter Controls
November 12, 2009
by John Wargo
Long a ubiquitous part of modern life, plastics are now in everything from diapers to water bottles to cell phones. But given the proven health threats of some plastics — as well as the enormous environmental costs — the time has come for the U.S. to pass a comprehensive plastics control law.
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Pew Cautions Against Unregulated Fish Farms in U.S. Federal Waters
11/12/2009
During this year’s Global Week of Action, a week devoted to farmed salmon awareness, the Pew Environment Group today raised concern about the creation of fish farms in U.S. waters without adequate uniform national aquaculture standards in place.


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New orca whale calf spotted off B.C. coast
November 12, 2009
VICTORIA — A new orca baby was spotted off the Victoria coast on Wednesday.
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High BPA levels linked to male sexual problems
November 11, 2009
Study in China is likely to bring further scrutiny of the common chemical
By Lyndsey Layton
 Washington Post Staff
Exposure to high levels of a controversial chemical found in thousands of everyday plastic products appears to cause erectile dysfunction and other sexual problems in men, according to a new study published Wednesday.
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Giant New Utah Wind Farm Will Power Los Angeles
November 11, 2009 (ENS)
The largest wind farm in Utah and one of the largest in the western United States was commissioned with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Tuesday at the project site near the small town of Milford.
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