Environment Memo

The credit card industry might try to squeeze more out of people who pay off the bill every month, as detailed in the Times. They may add or increase annual fees, reduce or eliminate points programs, and the like. These approaches stem from purported losses that the new credit card legislation will bring about. What [...]

It’s high time we got more cars off the road, saving gas and helping fuel the push toward more and better public transportation.  One way to accomplish this is to give a real driver’s test. Many other countries have rigorous driving tests during which the applicant must prove that they really can drive well, as [...]

The Obama administration has announced new fuel efficiency standards, as reviewed in the Washington Post.  Increasing mileage standards surely is a good idea. Nevertheless, it is time to realize that we need not only more efficient cars, but far fewer of them, and that this is going to occur whether the auto industry likes it [...]

There’s an interesting book that came out a couple of years ago, called The 64 Dollar Tomato.  My own  experience with tomatoes in recent times was with starter plants, which ended up yielding tomatoes at about $1 each, taking into account tools, fencing to keep the deer away, etc.  I gave up in view of [...]

As a sign of the economic times, more and more people are starting to think about growing their own.  As reviewed in USA Today, seed sales are way up.  My sources tell me that compost sales are way, way up this year, with many people asking for advice on how to start a vegetable garden. [...]

The WSJ reports on the upcoming announcement of the Obama administration’s ethanol policy. The administration aims to increase the availability of ethanol for cars, but will take into account carbon dioxide emissions resulting from changing farming practices, including eliminating rainforests, energy costs of producing ethanol, and the like.  The ethanol industry is not pleased. At [...]

Releases of particulate matter may be one reason why monitoring after the TMI incident does not seem to have fully reflected the health risks and resulting cancer rates.  Depending upon particle size, they would have been deposited downwind at various points, and may not have been detected during fly-bys and other radiation monitoring events. One [...]

In the previous post on the 30th anniversary of Three Mile Island and subsequent radiation monitoring, I mentioned use of unexposed photographic film for examining exposures.  Apparently, film was sent to Kodak for analysis. It is important to note that radiation monitoring, directly with dosimeters, or inferentially using film, does not provide the full picture [...]

The Institute for Southern Studies has a recent article about the incident at Three Mile Island. At the 30 year anniversary of the loss of a reactor TMI, some doubts have been raised as to the quantity of radiation released, with some believing that there is evidence that releases were higher than officially recognized. Health [...]