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ecretary of State John Kerry said in Vienna on Friday that air conditioners and refrigerators are as big of a threat to life as the threat of terrorism posed by groups like the Islamic State. ADVERTISEMENT The Washington Examiner reported that Kerry was in Vienna to amend the 1987 Montreal Protocol that would phase out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, from basic household and commercial appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, and inhalers. “As we were working together on the challenge of [ISIS] and terrorism,” Kerry said. “It’s hard for some people to grasp it, but what we–you–are doing here right now is...

Air conditioners and refrigerators pose as big a threat to "life on the planet" as the threat of terrorism, Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday. Kerry was in Vienna negotiating a global climate deal to phase out chemicals used as refrigerants in basic household and commercial appliances such as air conditioning and refrigerators, called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. The chemicals are a potent source of greenhouse gas emissions that many scientists blame for contributing to global warming.

Kerry: Air Conditioners as Big a Threat as ISIS BY: Alyssa Canobbio July 22, 2016 4:10 pm Secretary of State John Kerry said in Vienna on Friday that air conditioners and refrigerators are as big of a threat to life as the threat of terrorism posed by groups like the Islamic State. The Washington Examiner reported that Kerry was in Vienna to amend the 1987 Montreal Protocol that would phase out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, from basic household and commercial appliances like air conditioners, refrigerators, and inhalers. “As we were working together on the challenge of [ISIS] and terrorism,” Kerry said....

Air conditioners and refrigerators pose as big a threat to "life on the planet" as the threat of terrorism, Secretary of State John Kerry said Friday. Kerry was in Vienna negotiating a global climate deal to phase out chemicals used as refrigerants in basic household and commercial appliances such as air conditioning and refrigerators, called hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs. The chemicals are a potent source of greenhouse gas emissions that many scientists blame for contributing to global warming. Kerry made the remarks as part of a pep talk for negotiators working through the weekend to amend a 1987 treaty called the...

President Obama signed a bill into law Wednesday that places stronger regulations on chemicals present in nearly every product Americans use, including detergents, clothing, paint thinners, cleansers and automobiles. The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act passed by Congress early this month in a rare bipartisan vote. It updates the Toxic Substances Control Act, which had not been reauthorized since the Ford administration in the mid-1970s. The new law gives the Environmental Protection Agency more oversight and stronger tools to monitor chemicals that in some cases could cause cancer and other health problems in adults and...

Toxic chemicals used in everyday products such as household cleaners, clothing and furniture have been linked to serious illnesses, including cancer, infertility, diabetes and Parkinson’s disease. Under current law, only a small fraction of chemicals used in these products have been reviewed for safety. A bill that Congress sent President Barack Obama on Tuesday would set new safety standards for asbestos and other dangerous chemicals, including formaldehyde, styrene and BPA, that have gone unregulated for decades. The bill would update the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to evaluate new and existing chemicals against...

A site run by Denbury Onshore LLC in southwestern North Dakota has spilled more than 120,000 gallons of oil and wastewater into pastureland after a mechanical failure. Some estimated 17,000 gallons of oil and 105,000 gallons of drilling wastewater containing saltwater and chemicals leaked into pastureland near the city of Marmarth when a tank sensor failed, news agencies quoted state regulators as saying. The tank overflowed on Wednesday, and by Friday, workers were excavating the affected pastureland, which is being equated to the size of a football field.

Authorities have announced that customs investigators, along with the Israel Security Authority (ISA, also known as the Shin Bet or Shabak), recently prevented an attempt to smuggle four tons of ammonium chloride into Gaza. The chemical, which is used in the production of weapons, was hidden in bags of salt. Four tons would have allowed Hamas or other terror groups to create hundreds of long-range rockets. About a week before Passover, a shipment labeled as 40 tons of salt reached the Nitzana crossing, which is used for transporting goods between Egypt and both Israel and Gaza. An extensive search of...

A new study suggests a connection between the two A new study finds a correlation between the aerial spraying of pesticides to kill mosquitoes and an increased risk of developmental delays and autism among kids. In the new findings, presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies 2016 meeting, researchers looked at the rates of autism and developmental delays from eight zip codes in a region of New York that is exposed to yearly airplane pesticide spraying to prevent mosquito-borne disease like eastern equine encephalitis virus. They compared those to the rates in 16 zip codes where the pesticide spraying doesn’t happen....

Everyone is familiar with oil giant Exxon Mobil, so it should be no surprise that investors have kept XOM shares under pressure as oil prices hover near lows that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. What many investors do not realize though is that Exxon is more than just an oil company – the firm also owns the fourth largest chemical company in the world, Exxon Mobil Chemical.

Deodrants and antiperspirants radically change the 'microbial community' residing in people's underarms and allowing dangerous fungi to infest user's armpits. A new study found that antiperspirants destroyed good bacteria and could allow more potentially harmful bacteria to grow back at a faster rate.

Full title: EXCLUSIVE: Deputy of banned suicide-bomb-endorsing cleric Yusuf al-Qaradawi had White House meeting with National Security Council staff --------------------------------------- The UK and U.S. have banned Yusuf al-Qaradawi, who leads the anti-Israel International Union of Muslim Scholars. The Obama administration invited that group's VP, Abdallah bin Bayyah, to a private meeting on the day it announced support for Syria's rebelsThe organization ended its December 2012 board meeting by calling for the end of Israel and the return of its lands to the PalestiniansHours after MailOnline began inquiring with the National Security Council about its meeting with bin Bayyah, the cleric's...

Many questioned Barack Obama’s judgment when he backed away from his own “red line” in Syria, but Chuck Hagel tells Foreign Policy in an exclusive interview that it was actually worse than that. Obama lost his nerve, Hagel alleges, calling off promised strikes on Syria after Bashar al-Assad’s use of chemical weapons. Hagel also says that Obama’s team then stabbed him in the back as he was heading for the exits, and tried to “destroy me”: Jet-lagged from a long overseas trip, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel had just sat down with his wife for a quiet dinner at an...

I have a water feature I care for at work. This feature has an algae problem. I have put in ridiculous quantities of chlorine and acid with little effect. I believe the problem is due to a compost in the landscaping that is blowing into the feature. I think the compost is high in phosphate and is causing the resistant algae. The chemical store recommends a product that has lanthanum chloride hydrate. I need to know if this is harmful to animals as the owner's dog drinks and goes into this feature. Also, the feature drains into a cow pasture....

our brands of children’s crayons and two kids’ crime scene fingerprint kits were found to contain asbestos, according a report released Wednesday. The tests were commissioned by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) action fund, a government-certified laboratory and confirmed by another government-certified laboratory.

A train carrying toxic chemicals has derailed and caught fire causing thousands of people to be evacuated. More 5,000 people have been forced to leave their homes after a train with 'highly flammable and toxic gas' derailed and caught fire near Knoxville, Tennessee. Seven police officers were taken to hospital after breathing in fumes from the blaze, while fire-fighters in gas masks have been going from door to door to evacuate residents. As many as three cars derailed, Blount County Sheriff's spokeswoman Marian O'Briant said. Local fire authorities ordered a one-mile evacuation, and Hazmat crews responded to the scene. 'Evacuation...

If you wanted to clear a room full of nervous mothers of small children you could to it by yelling one word: “Chemicals!” Jessica Alba — famous for her roles in “Fantastic Four” and “Little Fockers” — knows this, and has built a booming business around modern, hand-wringing parents who worry about the prevalence of chemicals in everything, from toys to food. The company she co-founded, called The Honest Co., launched in 2012 selling personal care and home products for little ones like diapers, bath products, laundry detergent and more — all made with nontoxic ingredients. The company now touts...

Causes for childhood depression, anxiety and attention deficit range from nutritional imbalances and chemical exposure to home and school problems. Instead of addressing causes, many doctors and psychologists treat the symptoms with powerful medications. Today, almost nine million children, or almost one out of every five American children, take psychoactive drugs for their behavior disorders, many of which are questionable diagnoses. SIDE EFFECTS OF PROZAC Prozac, Luvox, Paxil, and Zoloft belong to a class of drugs called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or SSRI's. These drugs can induce akathisia - mental and physical agitation that sparks self-destructive, violent behavior. They...

WASHINGTON, June 16 (UPI) -- Secretary of State John Kerry said Tuesday he's "absolutely certain" that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has used chemical weapons against civilians. Since the beginning of Syria's civil war in 2011, there have been a number of accusations that Assad has employed the use of gas chemicals against rebels and civilians. Most recently, Human Rights Watch said it found evidence the government used chemical weapons in the Idlib governate in attacks spanning two weeks in March. "I am absolutely certain -- we are certain -- that the preponderance of those attacks have been carried out...

The Benghazi affair is beginning to shape up as a bi-partisan scandal — making Trey Gowdy’s life doubly difficult, of course. But the former prosecutor has been doing a bang-up job with his select committee, demolishing the mantra that there is “nothing new” to be learned about Benghazi and building a sober, far-reaching inquiry. Without Gowdy, recall, there would be no Clinton secret server, no Sidney Blumenthal trail, no new emails, and no upcoming testimony from Mrs. Clinton and her inner circle . On the latter, Gowdy is holding firm, saying he will not schedule testimony until all relevant emails...