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Bowcock also said they have found much higher pollution levels than expected. Some areas, he said, are showing levels that are 400 times higher than the recommended public health goal. While the utility believes the contamination is affecting an estimated 100 households, he believes the number is closer to 250. "I don't think PG&E ever had their arms around the problem entirely," said Bowcock, adding that he was stunned by the results. PG&E said it has not seen Bowcock's water testing results but remained committed to working with the community and the water district.

To protect our health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets maximum legal residue levels for every pesticide, for dozens of crops. But a new study in the respected journal Toxicology has shown that, at low levels that are currently legal on our food, Roundup could cause DNA damage, endocrine disruption and cell death. The study, conducted by French researchers, shows glyphosate-based herbicides are toxic to human reproductive cells. The potential real-life risks from this are infertility, low sperm count, and prostate or testicular cancer. But, “Symptoms could be so subtle, they would be easy to overlook,” says Theo Colborn,...

Greenpeace USA said Tuesday that it painted a message on the roof of Hewlett-Packard Co.’s head office in Palo Alto and voice-mailed HP employees with messages from William Shatner protesting the use of toxic materials. The group claimed that its members had painted the words "Hazardous Materials" and Greenpeace on the roof using non-toxic childrens' fingerpaint. The message reportedly is spread over about 11,500 square feet. The Washington, D.C.-based group also said it had sent voice messages to HP employees from Shatner, who played Captain James T. Kirk in “Star Trek,” calling on the company to phase out toxic chemicals.

A former French aircraft carrier containing 700 tonnes of contaminated materials has docked in Britain. The ship, which used to be known as the Clemenceau, completed its journey from Brest, in France, to join the ranks of "ghost ships" gathered at Graythorp, in Teesside. Environmentalists and local campaigners fear asbestos contained onboard the warship could harm the environment At 738ft (225m) long and 213ft (65m high), the 32,780-tonne vessel will become the largest ship to be recycled in Europe and will bring jobs to the area, but the project has faced criticism from environmental campaigners. Seven other decommissioned vessels, known...

You think solar electrical generation is going to save you or the Planet? Think again. While it is true that photovoltaic solar panels do not pollute while they are producing electricity -- what about the manufacturing process? What happens when these panels reach the end of their projected lifecycle in twenty-five years? (This is, by the way, an optimistic view of their useful life.) Those questions are addressed in a study by the watchdog group Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition. "Green Power" is being hyped as the "Safe Solution." It is anything but safe -- when all factors are considered. Here...

New Yorkers and Californians breathe in the dirtiest air in the nation and face higher cancer risks than the rest of the nation, according to the latest data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Oregon, Washington, D.C. and New Jersey had the third, fourth and fifth worst air in the nation, respectively, the EPA said. Rural residents of Wyoming, South Dakota and Montana breathed the cleanest air. New York's cancer risk is estimated to be 68 residents per million. In California, the risk is 66 residents per million.

excerpt...I remember my first visit to the state, which I grew to love because of its warm, good-hearted people. Incredible folks! It was 1979 and I was there to report on the toxic contamination and a cancer rate that had reached epidemic proportions in the corridor between Baton Rouge and New Orleans. The most highly toxic compounds known to mankind had been thrown willy-nilly in the bayous and in inadequate land pits or pumped deep beneath the ground when they didn't simply drain into the Mississippi. I stayed with a man named Dave Ewell whose family plantation was in ruins...