27 Jan 2012
*NLM Technical Bulletin, Jan-Feb 2012, The National Library of Medicine TOXMAP and TOXNET Now Include 2010 EPA Toxics Release
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/jf12/brief/jf12_sis_toxmap.html
From: NLM New files for the week of Jan 23, 2012
More information is here at Toxmap News: http://toxmap.nlm.nih.gov/toxmap/news/2012/01/toxmap-now-includes-tri-2010-data.html
UNESCO: Rio+20
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/rioplus20/
“The UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) will be held in Rio de Janeiro in June 2012 and the hope is that this gathering will refocus on the original goals of the first Rio convention held in 1992. UNESCO hopes that Rio+20 will “underpin a broader, longer-term process of redressing imbalances, a rethinking of priorities, and the necessary institutional reforms to bring about coherence in economic, environmental and social policies, which benefits all members of society.” On this site, visitors can learn about UNESCO’s “messages” for those participating in Rio+20, which cover “Education for a Sustainable Future” and “Building Awareness for Green Policies”. Moving along, the “Resources” area contains timely research documents like “From Green Economics to Green Societies” and “Blueprint for Ocean and Coastal Sustainability”. Also, visitors shouldn’t miss the “Video” area, which includes information about UNESCO’s outreach efforts in addressing the digital divide and incorporating media partners into educating the public about sustainable development.”
Source: Scout Report, Univ. of Wisconsin, Jan. 20.
For the next 30 days, everyone has free access to the latest month of these 4 Wiley journals:
Princeton has subscriptions to all of these titles. They are indexed in various, multiple databases.
Latest Special Issues from the ERP Environment Journals
From: Wiley Blackwell, e-news@Wiley.com
ToxCastDB, from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Internet Resource. Reviewed in 2011dec CHOICE. p. 652
http://actor.epa.gov/actor/faces/ToxCastDB/Home.jsp
[Visited Sep’11] ToxCastDB provides public access to data gathered by the ToxCast project that screens chemicals for potential human toxicity using more than 500 high-throughput screening bioassays from nine bioassay vendors. ToxCast is part of the EPA’s National Center for Computational Toxicology. As the Basic Info link states, ToxCast links “biological, metabolic and cellular pathway data to gene and in vitro assay data for the chemicals screened.” At the time of this review, 300 chemicals had been screened, with another 700 projected by the end of 2012.”
To read the whole review: http://www.cro2.org/default.aspx?page=search_results
Worldwatch Institute Mourns an Environmental Heroine
“It is with great sadness that Worldwatch Institute says goodbye to Kenya’s Wangari Muta Maathai, an environmental activist and women’s rights advocate and the founder of Kenya’s influential Green Belt movement. Maathai was the first African woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004, for promoting conservation, women’s rights, and a transparent government. In 2003, Worldwatch had the honor of interviewing Maathai and being in her presence in Kenya. She was an inspiration to our work and will be dearly missed.”
Read: Worldwatch Institute Mourns an Environmental Heroine
Source: Worldwatch Weekly Newsletter Sept. 29, 2011
“Report Offers Framework To Guide EPA On Incorporating Sustainability In Its Decision Making
WASHINGTON – A new report from the National Research Council presents a framework for incorporating sustainability into the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s principles and decision making. The framework, which was requested by EPA, is intended to help the agency better assess the social, environmental, and economic impacts of various options as it makes decisions.
The committee that developed the framework used the definition of sustainability based on a declaration of federal policy in the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act and included in a 2009 Executive Order: “to create and maintain conditions under which humans and nature can exist in productive harmony, that permit fulfilling the social, economic, and other requirements of present and future generations.”
Source: What’s New @ the National Academies, Aug. 8, 2011
New Series: “Changing Planet” Town Hall #2
On Tuesday, July 26th at 9 PM/ET, the Weather Channel will air another “Changing Planet” town hall produced by NBC Learn and moderated by NBC News Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent Anne Thompson. Changing Planet: Clean Energy, Green Jobs, and Global Competition was filmed at George Washington University. It’s the second in a three-part series produced with the National Science Foundation and Discover magazine. The town hall will also be available after the broadcasts on nbclearn.com/changingplanet.
From an email NBC learn July Newsletter, 7/18/11
National Geographic: Environment
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/?source=NavEnvHome
“The Environment section of the National Geographic website has so many photos, quizzes, blogs, games and news to learn from and enjoy, that visitors will probably have to make a number of return visits. For those with only a little time, visitors absolutely must check out the link “News Blog: Greatest Nature Photos” under the “Environment News” heading near the top of the page. There visitors will see several of the 40 greatest nature photos that were chosen by a conservation photography organization in celebration of Earth Day 2010. “Test your Earth IQ” quizzes on backyard birds, Yosemite, pollution, natural disasters, and going green will keep visitors plenty busy, and the quizzes are also a great way to learn something new. The “NG in the Field” section reports on the grantees of National Geographic grants. Some of the projects include, “Big Cats Initiatives”, “Blue Holes Project”, and “Quintana Roo Underwater Cave Project”. [KMG]
Source: Univ. of Wisconsin, Scout Report — May 14, 2010
“Where does your drinking water come from?
A simple question, but how many people actually know the answer? Watch this video as we took to the streets to find out and then check out the results of our national poll.
In honor of World Water Day, today, March 22, we hope you take the time to get to know where your family’s most precious resource comes from.
Locate your city on this interactive graphic to find out where your water comes from and how supporters like you help to protect that source.
At a time when the natural world is under increasing stress, our rivers, lakes, wetlands and streams may be the most at risk. Here are a few things you can do to celebrate World Water Day and ensure healthy water for you and your family for years to come.
· Give a gift to The Nature Conservancy today to help support many initiatives including our Freshwater work.
· Watch and share this video of my eight-year-old son, Luca, as he demonstrates how natural eco-systems keep water clean.
· Share your favorite rivers and lakes photos to help inspire others to care for our freshwater resources.
· Get tips on how you and your family can save water and share them with your network of friends and family through Facebook and Twitter.
You can also read about how the people of Palau are unifying to protect their water on a local level, and how this approach could be used to inspire collaboration in communities across the globe.”
Source Nature Conservancy email, 3/22/11