Free Republic

Exposure to the light of white LED bulbs, it turns out, suppresses melatonin 5 times more than exposure to the light of High Pressure Sodium bulbs that give off an orange-yellow light. "Just as there are regulations and standards for 'classic' pollutants, there should also be regulations and rules for the pollution stemming from artificial light at night," says Prof. Abraham Haim of the University of Haifa. "White" light bulbs that emit light at shorter wavelengths are greater suppressors of the body's production of melatonin than bulbs emitting orange-yellow light, a new international study has revealed. Melatonin is a compound...

JOHN DAY -- Ranchers and environmentalists have locked horns over cattle grazing for years. Now a battered economy and a looming court decision are fueling a full-on battle in Grant County. On one side, ranchers and the county chairman say proposed grazing limits could deal a knockout punch to more than a dozen cattle operations and, because of job losses and lost tax revenue, county social services.On the other side, an environmental group says wild steelhead are in decline because of stream bank damage caused by grazing cattle. "The mood here is not good," says Mark Webb, chairman of...

Compact fluorescent light bulbs have long been known to contain poisonous liquid mercury, but a study released earlier this year shows the level of mercury vapor released from broken bulbs skyrockets past accepted safety levels. Following a story reported by WND last year about a Maine woman quoted $2,000 for cleaning up a broken fluorescent bulb (or CFL) in her home, the Maine Department of Environmental Protection studied the dangers of broken CFLs and the adequacy of recommended cleanup procedures. The results were stunning: breaking a single compact fluorescent bulb on the floor can spike mercury vapor levels in a...

A few hours after a $50 million condo project burned down, apparently in an eco-terror attack, Earth Liberation Front spokesman Rod Coronado stood in front of a San Diego audience and explained how to build a homemade Molotov cocktail. Now, Coronado is going to trial in federal court on a single count of distributing information on explosives, destructive devices and weapons of mass destruction with the intent that his listeners commit illegal acts of violence, a charge that could land him in prison for up to 20 years under post-Sept. 11 legislation. Prosecutors say Coronado, a longtime environmental activist renowned...

PARIS (AFP) - A kilogram (2.2 pounds) of beef causes more greenhouse-gas and other pollution than driving for three hours while leaving all the lights on back home, according to a Japanese study. A team led by Akifumi Ogino of the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Tsukuba, calculated the environmental cost of raising cattle through conventional farming, slaughtering the animal and distributing the meat, New Scientist reports in next Saturday's issue. Producing a kilo (2.2 pounds) of beef causes the equivalent of 36.4 kilos (80.08 pounds) in carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal greenhouse gas, Ogino found. Most...

I've been reading a lot about something called living a "carbon neutral" life. Or as the David Suzuki Foundations puts it: "Going carbon neutral is an easy way to take responsibility for the greenhouse gas emissions we create every time we drive our cars, take a plane, or turn on our computers." How do we do this, you may ask? We're supposed to "offset your own emissions." if you pardon the expression, by making an equal donation to "wind farms, solar installations, or energy efficiency projects." Think of it as your personal little Kyoto, or owing the earth a nickel...

It's the Cities, Stupid. There are two maps on this page. The one at the top should be familiar. It's one of those red-state/blue-state maps that have been tormenting Democrats, liberals, and progressives since November of 2000. Over the 36 days that George W. Bush and Al Gore fought for the White House in Florida, "red" and "blue" became metaphors for America's divided electorate. Red vs. Blue--Democrat vs. Republican; liberal vs. conservative; pro-life vs. pro-choice; gun-huggers vs. gun-haters; gay-huggers vs. gay-haters. The red-state/blue-state map opposite shows the results of 2004's presidential election--red states won by George W. Bush, blue states...

Putin readies measure on global warming for a vote in parliament MOSCOW -- Key ministries of the Russian government began the process of ratifying the Kyoto Protocol yesterday, signaling that President Vladimir V. Putin is preparing to put the landmark global-warming treaty to a vote in parliament. After weeks of behind-the-scenes meetings aimed at weighing costs and benefits, including Russia's possible admission later this year into the World Trade Organization, Putin directed his Cabinet ministers to ''sign as soon as possible" the draft ratification documents, the first step toward allowing Russia to join the 1997 accord. The Ministry of Natural...

worthy global treaty has been awaiting Senate ratification for 22 years. If a tiny but noisy group of xenophobic activists, assisted by a callow Senate leadership, have their way, it will wait forever. And the world, the oceans and the strategic interests of the United States will be the poorer. The treaty in question is the Law of the Sea, which, despite its soporific name and noble intent, has inspired lively ideological warfare over the years. Written in 1982 under United Nations auspices, it gives each nation control over its own coastal waters - an "exclusive economic zone" extending 200...

But before we can embrace a sane future we have to overcome the Cold War superstitions of the Green Left I am not sure whether it is a good thing or a bad thing that there is almost no oil left anywhere in the world. Out of a sort of childish spite, one is obviously delighted that soon enough countries like Saudi Arabia will have nothing with which to hold the world to ransom. And nothing has caused more environmental damage to our planet than the consumption of hydrocarbons (except maybe that comet which allegedly wiped out the dinosaurs). On...

It was a dark day in America on April 5. On that day, the U.S. Supreme Court turned away a grand opportunity presented by Pacific Legal Foundation—an opportunity to reinforce the basic principle that our federal government has been granted only limited powers, and those powers are constrained by the Constitution to be used in a fair and just manner. Moreover, because of the High Court’s inaction, Michigan landowner John Rapanos, age 68, faces federal imprisonment for a minimum of 10 months and up to $10 million in civil penalties. His crime: failure to fill out federal paperwork before putting...

THE Earth may be fighting back against global warming, say scientists who believe the world is getting wetter as it warms, improving the planet's ability to soak up carbon dioxide. Research from Australian scientists released during the annual science meeting of the Co-operative Research Centre for Greenhouse Accounting, supports the notion that the Earth is self-regulating. The centre's communique suggests that, contrary to popular perceptions, the Earth is getting wetter - not necessarily through greater rainfall but through a reduction in evaporation caused by cloudier days that prompt more efficient photosynthesis. Research centre chief Chris Mitchell said such conditions could...

<p>SAN FRANCISCO (AP) &#8212; A growing militant movement opposed to genetic engineering in agriculture and medicine is turning to sabotage &#8212; from the bombing of a biotech company to the destruction of genetically modified crops.</p> <p>As a result, targeted companies are taking extra security precautions and also often altering business strategies. The violence, which the FBI says suddenly became more serious this year, stems in part from frustration that peaceful protests have failed to slow the pace of biotech's progress.</p>

Fourteen hundred farmers owning 200,000 acres in the Klamath River Basin of southern Oregon and Northern California were denied their water rights during the summer of 2001 because of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA). Nearly $200 million of life savings and hard work were wiped out instantly as the farmers were left with essentially worthless land. They are not alone. This has been the legacy of the ESA from its inception. It has confiscated billions of dollars of private property, harmed or destroyed the lives of hundreds of thousands of Americans and has not saved one endangered species!...

WASHINGTON — The National Wildlife Federation and Florida conservation groups will file lawsuits alleging two federal agencies did not protect land they feel is vital to the endangered Florida panther. The two lawsuits allege the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service "have failed to develop a meaningful plan to guide development so that people and the Florida panther can co-exist in Southwest Florida." The cases will be filed today in U.S. District Court in Washington. One case alleges the Army Corps misused its permitting process under the Clean Water Act while a second accuses both...