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This post is by Mark Brownstein, managing director of business partnerships and specialist on coal technology at Environmental Defense Fund. On Monday, CONSOL Energy – one of America’s leading coal companies – announced they would build America’s first coal-to-liquid plant in West Virginia. The press release from coal country announces that a strategy for sequestering […]

This post is by Jackie Roberts, director of sustainable technologies at Environmental Defense Fund. In the midst of reports of six straight months of U.S. job losses, there were two reports on a more hopeful note: Jobs in Renewable Energy Expanding (Worldwatch Institute) Job Opportunities for the Green Economy (University of Massachusetts) The Worldwatch Institute […]

Rod Fujita, Ph.D., is a scientist in the Oceans program at Environmental Defense Fund. Coral reefs aren’t just pretty places for scuba divers (although they do bring in billions of tourist dollars). These rich ecosystems supply the inhabitants of coral reef countries with the fish that they depend on as their main source of protein. […]

“California’s air [resources] board [CARB] unveiled the nation’s most ambitious plan on June 26th to require cleaner cars and fuels, energy-efficient buildings and more electricity from the sun and wind to cut greenhouse gases in the state.” — San Francisco Chronicle, 6/27/08 Discussion on the implementation of AB 32, California’s landmark global warming legislation. Featuring: […]

This post is by Andy Darrell, vice president for Living Cities at Environmental Defense Fund. The high cost of gas has pushed retail gas purchases down 2 to 3 percent. What are people doing instead? Taking public transportation! The first quarter report from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) found that use of public transportation […]

This post is by Jackie Roberts, director of sustainable technologies at Environmental Defense Fund. Shifting to a low-carbon economy means creating renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. This will take a lot of work, but in a good sense. We’ll see increased investment, new businesses, and new products to manufacture — the creation of many […]

This post is by Vickie Patton, deputy general counsel at Environmental Defense Fund, and former attorney in EPA’s General Counsel’s office. Yesterday, the D.C. Circuit denied the petition for writ of mandamus filed by a coalition of states and environmental organizations to enforce the Supreme Court’s landmark decision on global warming in Massachusetts v. EPA. […]

This post is by Derek Walker, deputy director of the State Climate Campaign and director of the California Climate Initiative at Environmental Defense Fund. Two weeks ago I posted about California’s Dangerous "Proposition 98", with hidden provisions threatening the state’s environmental laws. The alternative, Proposition 99, achieves the stated goals of Proposition 98 (protecting homeowners […]

Today’s post is by Derek Walker, deputy director of the State Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund. On June 3rd Californians will vote on two competing ballot initiatives that purport to prevent abuse of "eminent domain" – the power of a government to take private property for public use. But only one of these – […]

Featuring: David Yarnold, Executive Director Steve Cochran, National Climate Campaign Director Despite promises from both sides of the aisle and support of all remaining presidential candidates, there are still formidable barriers. June 6 call: Analyzing the Senate’s progress: Download mp3 | Subscribe in iTunes May 27 call: Strategies and Concerns: Download mp3 | Subscribe in […]

Today’s post is by Derek Walker, deputy director of the State Climate Campaign at Environmental Defense Fund. Connecticut will soon become the fifth state, after California, New Jersey, Hawaii and Washington, to enact a mandatory cap on greenhouse gas emissions. The state’s Republican Governor, Jodi Rell, announced this week that she will sign the global […]

By John Balbus

John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., is Chief Health Scientist.

The history of health and environmental impacts of fuel additives is not a pretty one.  From tetra-ethyl lead to methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE), we’ve learned the hard way that what goes in the tank ends up in our bodies and the environment sooner or later.  Getting a thorough understanding of the potential risks of a new fuel additive at an early stage is essential to avoid a lot of harm, suffering, and economic costs down the line.

A new study by Park et al. has assessed the potential respiratory risks of a fuel additive called Envirox (nanoparticulate cerium oxide), giving it a clean bill of health based only on in vitro tests.  Is this the vision of the future of risk assessment?  Should we feel safe?

Nanoparticulate cerium oxide is touted as a solution to both global warming and particulate air pollution.  Added to diesel fuel as a combustion catalyst, it has been shown to reduce both fuel consumption and fine particle concentration in diesel exhaust.  But what happens when these tiny particles of cerium oxide blow out of the tail pipe?

The study by Park et al. uses short-term in vitro assays and exposure data to conclude negligible risk of oxidative stress and pulmonary inflammation from chronic exposure to Envirox-augmented diesel exhaust.  The authors note that they have only examined oxidative stress and pulmonary inflammation and do not generalize more broadly about other potential health risks.

But does this really show Envirox is safe?  The authors note, “this assessment assumes that the in vitro exposure data can be accurately projected to the in vivo situation.”  What they don’t say is that it also assumes that short-term in vitro tests accurately predict effects from chronic exposure.  Neither of these assumptions is seriously examined in the paper’s discussion, and I’ve questioned whether current in vitro tests can be relied upon to predict actual toxicity in a previous blog.  But let’s assume for the moment that these assumptions are true.

Part of the concern with nanoparticles is the potential for translocation around the body, including to places where larger particles cannot go.  Could cerium oxide nanoparticles reach and build up in the bone, kidneys, or spleen (areas where non-nano cerium oxide particles accumulate)?  What about the developing brain (which other nanoparticles have been shown to access)?  Can they harm those organs over time?  Unfortunately, exposing lung slices in a petri dish can’t tell us about translocation or harm to these other organs.

In the 1920s, tetra-ethyl lead got the green light as a gasoline additive after a short-term test of effects in adults showed no harm.  Of course, the worst effects of its use were chronic effects in children.  More than twenty years after lead was taken out of gasoline, children are still affected by residual lead contamination in urban soils.  We should be much smarter now.

Even if the present study can be extrapolated to suggest it is unlikely that Envirox will cause pulmonary oxidative stress and related harm in real people, we need to know much more than that before concluding that its widespread use as a fuel additive is safe.

This post is by Steve Cochran, director of the national climate campaign at Environmental Defense Fund. Ohio Senator George Voinovich today proposed to address the rapidly escalating threat of climate change by delaying meaningful federal action to control greenhouse gas emissions, obstructing existing state programs, and allowing U.S. global warming pollution to increase for decades […]

In less than one year, congestion pricing in New York City has moved from public policy theory to near-reality, thanks to the determined advocacy of Environmental Defense Fund and our partners in the Campaign for New York’s Future. This call was held on Friday, April 11, 2008 at 1:00 PM Eastern. Featuring David Yarnold, Executive […]

This post is by Andy Darrell, vice president of the Living Cities Program at Environmental Defense Fund. Yesterday, the New York State Legislature failed to pass congestion pricing for New York City (see NY1 report), thus forgoing $354 million in federal funds. Today more than ever, New York and America’s other big cities need solutions […]

Steve Cochran updates EDF members on the prospects of passing global warming legislation this year, outlines what activists can do to help, and answers questions. On this first activist conference call, more than 100 people participated. Sam Parry, Manager of Online Membership and Activism, moderates. This call was held on Friday, March 28, 2008 at […]

This post is by Vickie Patton, Deputy General Counsel at Environmental Defense Fund, and a former attorney in EPA’s General Counsel’s office. One year ago, the Supreme Court rejected the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) claim that it lacked legal authority to regulate global warming pollution (for example, from vehicle tailpipes). EPA administrator Stephen Johnson promised […]

This post is by Scott Anderson, an attorney and senior policy advisor at the Environmental Defense Fund. It’s the second in a three-part series on carbon sequestration – storing carbon or carbon dioxide (CO2) in soils, trees, geological formations, and oceans. 1. Biological Sequestration 2. Geological Sequestration 3. Ocean Sequestration To stop global warming, the […]

By John Balbus

John Balbus, M.D., M.P.H., is Chief Health Scientist.

It’s been a worry for engineered nanoparticles. Now, a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health (Suglia et al., 2008) is the first to suggest that particulate air pollution not only damages the lungs and heart, but also may damage the developing brain.

Researchers measured cognitive function in over 200 children in Boston in relation to their residential exposure to traffic-related air pollution by measuring airborne carbon black particles. They found the IQ-lowering effect of higher exposure is comparable to a pregnant mother smoking 10 cigarettes a day or moderate lead exposure.

It’s important to note that carbon black is only used as an indicator for traffic-related particle pollution in this study, and the authors stress that it should not be concluded that pure carbon black is the causative agent here. The actual particles inhaled are likely to be contaminated by heavy metals and other toxins, and these may well be the culprits or at least greatly contribute to the actual damage to brain tissues. But it does suggest that some of the ultrafine fraction of air pollution finds its way into the brain and causes harm.

This study may not be making headlines in the nanoworld, but the nanoworld should be taking notice.

The authors hypothesize that the combustion particles make their way via the olfactory nerves from the children’s nasal passages directly into the children’s brains, as has been demonstrated for a variety of engineered nanoparticles in animal models (e.g., Oberdorster et al., 2004; Elder et al., 2006). Once there, the particles, including attached contaminants, may cause oxidative stress, ultimately leading to inflammation and cellular malfunction and/or damage. The study did control for potentially confounding factors like maternal cigarette smoking, lead levels in the children’s blood, mother’s educational level, low birth weight, and other factors.

This study should give pause to those who are making nanoparticles containing known neurotoxins, such as lead and manganese. And with growing understanding of the linkages between developmental and degenerative diseases of the brain, there’s reason to think that processes that lead to IQ loss in growing kids can impair brain functioning in aging adults. One more reason to avoid inhalation of nanoparticles, especially those with known capacity to cause oxidative stress.

By EDF Blogs

The Energy Bill of 2007 mandates the production of 36 billion gallons of alternative fuels by 2022. What does that mean for the environment? Will food costs skyrocket? And how about our greenhouse gases? As Environmental Defense presses for effective national climate legislation, how will the politics of biofuels impact the legislative battle?

This call was held on Monday, March 3, 2008 at 1:00 PM Eastern.

Featuring

• David Yarnold, Executive Director
• Robert Bonnie, Co-Director of Land, Water & Wildlife Program
• Steve Cochran, National Climate Campaign Director

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