Washing Away the Fields of Iowa

New York Times Published May 6, 2011 To an untrained eye, the fields of Iowa have a reassuring solidity. You cannot tell that the state has lost half its topsoil in the past century. According to a new report from the Environmental Working Group, Iowa’s soil is washing away at rates far higher than anyone…

Nation’s Pediatricians Call on Congress to Protect Kids from Toxic Chemicals

CONTACT: EWG Public Affairs: 202-667-6982; leeann@ewg.org FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 25, 2011 Washington, D.C. – U.S. pediatricians are putting their considerable muscle behind the calls for Congress to overhaul a failed federal law that has exposed millions of children, beginning in the womb, to an untold number of toxic chemicals. In its statement, Chemical-Management Policy: Prioritizing…

While Energy Policy Falters, Plastic Bag Laws Multiply

Andrew Curry For National Geographic News Published May 3, 2011 This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visitThe Great Energy Challenge. Archaeologists at work in the Egyptian desert call them “desert blossoms.” Beleaguered city dwellers refer to them as “urban tumbleweeds.” Flimsy, translucent, and so cheap to produce they…

U.N. Forecasts 10.1 Billion People by Century’s End

The population of the world, long expected to stabilize just above 9 billion in the middle of the century, will instead keep growing and may hit 10.1 billion by the year 2100, the United Nations projected ina report released Tuesday. Growth in Africa remains so high that the population there could more than triple in this…