Environmental Engineering & Toxicology

With conventional centrifugal (CEN) pumps, less than 50% of southern Bangladesh's farmers invest in irrigation, partly due to high diesel energy costs. New policies are prioritizing sustainable crop intensification in Bangladesh's delta. This objective is unlikely to be achieved without fundamental changes in the energetics and economics of irrigation. Where surface water is available, axial flow pumps (AFPs) may comprise part of the solution to this problem.

Fellow Judith Rubin wrote this article in 2003, but it still holds today. Feel free to use the "Writing a Gift Letter" sidebar at the bottom of the article to encourage your own relatives and friends to rethink their giving habits.

“There’s evidence that diet is one route of exposure to pesticides, and you can reduce your exposure by choosing organic food,” said the lead author, Asa Bradman, associate director of the Center for Environmental Research and Children’s Health at the University of California, Berkeley. “But I would never say that conventional fruits and vegetables are unsafe. They’re all healthy.” Read more

With wingspans of up to 3 metres, it should be hard to miss the largest bird in North America – but there aren’t a lot of them. The California condor is only just hanging on in its home state, but thanks to a gargantuan conservation effort, the tide may finally be turning.

2. Secondhand fumes. ​While that nail-polish smell is unavoidable, your eyes shouldn't water upon entry. Workers are the most vulnerable to fumes, "but even short exposure to hazardous chemicals can be harmful," says Thu Quach, Ph.D., a research scientist with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California who has done extensive research on nail-salon safety. Read more

In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its first national study tracking personal exposures to dozens of chemicals in a representative sample of the U.S. population. The agency found that almost all Americans had an array of industrial compounds coursing through their bodies, although levels varied depending on such factors as age and gender. While many of these substances are found in everyday products, most have never been adequately tested for potential health effects.

When you ask Switzer Fellow Sue Chiang (2007) about what drives her passion to expose the hidden dangers of fracking, her answer is straight and to the point. “We’re looking at a new California Gold Rush, only this time the frenzy is nationwide, and now we have technology that’s capable of leaving an environmental footprint exponentially more harmful than what was possible in the past," says Chiang.

The Environmental Protection Agency should revise and re-propose a data collection rule proposed in April to address industry concerns and to provide needed clarifications, a toxicologist representing the American Chemistry Council's Nanotechnology Panel said June 11....Jo Anne Shatkin, founder of Vireo Advisors, a company that offers risk assessment expertise, market analysis and other services, raised a concern shared by other speakers about the proposed rule's definition of a chemical substance that would be subject to reporting requirements.