EnvironmentalChemistry.com

Perc has been shown to be a potential human carcinogen and to have other human health risks, yet the vast majority of America's dry cleaners use perc - are there viable alternatives? The three most prominent non-perc cleaning options are examined and compared. Are there Realistic Dry-Cleaning Alternatives to Perc?

My teachers weren't lazy, incompetent, greedy, overpaid or thugs For over two weeks now I have been reading about the unprecedented peaceful protests in Wisconsin over their governor's efforts to bust public employee unions, particularly teacher unions, and to cut teacher compensation. What I find most distressing about this is that to achieve the goal of busting public employee unions in states …

Home Weatherization Paying Off Big Time Over the past year or so (2009-2010) we undertook a series of weatherization and energy conservation projects on the home we bought in 2009. The first thing we did before undertaking these projects was to have an energy audit conducted (you can read about the energy audit here). Although the audit cost us $415, it was a very important first step in weatheri…

The quality of Norwegian farmed salmon has recently come into question with the Russian ban, illegal nitrate use, and a building body of evidence that consumers should limit their consumption.This article was a serious coup for EnvironmentalChemistry.com as its writer was actually a senior scientist in seafood safety for the Norwegian government at the National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood

Bills in Congress to provide tens of billions of dollars in subsidies tax credits and loan guarantees for coal to liquids production (see my last blog entry) got me wondering just how much money the United States spends each year on energy research and development. Fortunately, my curiosity was easily satisfied as the International Energy Agency (IEA) tracks such things and makes their data

Using cool nights for a cooler home during the day at no cost In cooler climates like here in Maine, even as we swelter through hot summer days we still typically enjoy cooler, more comfortable nights. Even when temperatures push above 90°F (32°C) nights can drop to around 70°F (21°C) at night. This temperature swing provides for a cheap and easy means of helping to keep a home cooler on hot days…

Could Maine be Energy Self Sufficient in Ten Years? Yesterday I attended a meet and greet for Pat McGowan who is one of seven candidates who are running for the Democratic nomination to be the next Governor of Maine. One of his key agenda items is to continue Maine on its path to energy self sufficiency within ten years. This would be accomplished through harnessing a diverse array of renewable e…

Replacing windows & doors usually isn't best way to save energy With all the home energy efficiency tax credits being offered up to home owners, I have observed a predictable uptick in advertising related to home weatherization goods and services. Not surprisingly, much of this advertising is targeted towards getting consumers to buy new energy efficient doors and windows. The thing is is that fo…

In Massachusetts, the Concord River, along with its tributaries, serve as an example of the implications that pollutants can have on our environment. Environmental Pollution of the Concord River, a Historic American Waterway

Toyota Prius Plug-in Hybrid Debuts at Frankfurt Motor Show By Kenneth Barbalace [Monday, October 19, 2009] At the Frankfurt Motor Show, Toyota unveiled a plug-in hybrid version of its popular Toyota Prius. This concept car is based on the third generation Prius and uses first generation lithium-ion batteries. Read more at http://behindthewheelnews.toyota.com/?id=252

Glen Beck, H1N1 Vaccine, Ethyle Mercury & Dangerously Irresponsible Fear Mongering By Kenneth Barbalace [Thursday, October 08, 2009] Politically motivated fear mongering has become a routine part of the partisan discourse with some media outlets. This is an unfortunate part of the current political reality. There are occasions, however, when this fear mongering goes far beyond being just politica…

US Government scientists have always been free to conduct unbiased research for the betterment of society and the environment. Under pressure from industry and special interests, biased research has resulted in pseudoscience that threatens the integrity of science in America. Pseudoscience: A Threat to Our Environment

Effectively sharing articles with Digg friends via Twitter For many Digg.com users, the removal of Digg's shout feature also meant they lost the ability to share articles and communicate privately with their Digg friends. While not an ideal solution, one work around to the loss of the Digg shout feature is to use Twitter. Create a Twitter profile To effectively use Twitter, however, you first nee…

Are you putting lead on your garden? In the past couple of years there have been a lot of product scares about lead in various products imported from China. But one product that normally contains lead that no one ever thinks about is garden hoses. Yes, for the most part the majority of garden hoses contain lead. The reason is that lead is used during the manufacturing process as a stabilizer for …

Eco Friendly vs Organic Gardening By Kenneth Barbalace [Friday, May 22, 2009] It is the season to start vegetable garden in the northern hemisphere and organic gardening is all the rage. As I've been planning and working on our garden I've been pondering the merits and limits of organic gardening. Something I've been thinking about is whether organic gardening is necessarily eco friendly gardenin…

The uncertain whims of social networking sites By Kenneth Barbalace [Sunday, May 17, 2009] Like so many folks on the Internet I have been building up social networks on various social networking sites. One of my favorite haunts is Digg. I like Digg because it is oftentimes a good way to find news articles and blog posts on issues I am interested in (progressive politics and environmental issues).…

Senate Considering Energy Assistance Fund Recently, I noticed my Senator, Susan Collins (Maine, Republican), had introduced a bill called the "Energy Assistance Fund Act" (S.855) whose purpose is to help make the U.S. more energy independent by improving the energy efficiency of homes via weatherization (a really big issue here in Maine) and providing tax credits for consumers to invest in renewa…

By Kenneth Barbalace [Saturday, May 02, 2009] For almost two years I have been working on starting a new section to EnvironmentalChemistry.com that would focus on building green homes and doing eco renovations. The challenge has been to find the right projects to document. Well after some false starts and frustrating delays I am happy to announce our first project and accompanying series of artic…

By Kenneth Barbalace [Monday, February 11, 2008] Whatever their motivation - be it energy independence for the U.S. or an attempt at fighting climate change for Europe - world governments are now heavily subsidizing biofuels. U.S. President George Bush pledged up to $150 million for work on cellulosic ethanol in his 2006 State of the Union address, and as recently as March 2007 he visited Columbi…

In the Midwest of the United States the matter of whether prairie dogs are a threatened species or an over populated public health nuisance that causes severe economic damage has been raging for decades.This article is the first in a series of articles that we will publish on EnvironmentalChemistry.com on the subject of Prairie dogs over the coming month or so. On a personal note, if you have