Pollution Disclosure: How Much Should the Public Know?
A few U.S. companies are trying to stop the E.P.A. from creating an online database that would publish just how much they pollute and how that number is calculated for each facility. The companies argue that trade secrets would be exposed and consumer prices would increase as a result. Although, the companies don’t have an issue with disclosing the total amount, the problem they have lies in the details (how they calculated it).
The E.P.A says the data would help the public check the emission math of the companies as well as give the agency a way to calculate how emission reduction rules work.
Source: Yahoo! News
Fate of the World Computer Game
British-made ‘Fate of the World’ brings users the power to determine the earth’s future, considering factors like climate change, growing population, and natural resource scarcity. The user has the option to help save the planet through green options like geoengineering, or the player can simply let the world continue to run as it is today. The game will be released in February 2011.
Source: Reuters
Rabbit Food Decreases Estrogen in Wastewater
At the University of Cincinnati, experiments were run to test what could be done to hormone-rich water, and the surprising answer is rabbit food treatment. Estrogen has contaminated wastewater and has caused deformations and unnatural occurrences in wildlife. Rabbit food has proved to successfully absorb 80 percent of the estrogen in wastewater, creating an effective and inexpensive way to reduce hormone levels.
Source: Science Daily
