Measure the rollback in your own state

How much have you been affected by the Bush administration's rollback of public health, safety, and environment protections? How much does your state need improved protections? Check out the excellent feature My Backyard from the Center for American Progress: a clickable map that allows you to go state by state and look up data on pollution, workplace health and safety, fuel economy, and more.

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Yet more bad news on the environment

As if the news weren't bad enough already: Mercury Rising: More women of childbearing age are showing alarming levels of mercury, a powerful neurotoxin: One-fifth of women of childbearing age have mercury levels in their hair that exceed federal health standards, according to interim results of a nationwide survey being conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Asheville. . . .

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So much for wilderness

The Heritage Forests Campaign, an environmental coalition, is sounding the alarm on the administration's mishandling of the still-wild, roadless areas of our National Forests: "In recent years, the Forest Service has flagrantly abused its discretion by misinterpreting the Eastern Wilderness Act and incorrectly applying ad hoc guidelines," Furnish writes in the report, titled Eastern Roadless Areas Under Threat. "This has resulted in an inconsistent approach (and) raised questions about the agency's credibility and stewardship."

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Politicized science and global warming

There's a good thorough account in today's N.Y. Times on the Bush administration's tendencies to dirty up the science by imposing partisan litmus tests on scientists selected for advisory committees and by picking and choosing science (or, in some case, non-scientific economics analyses) depending on the deregulatory outcome desired.

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Lawmakers Ask for Stronger Salmon Recovery Measures

The National Marine Fisheries Service issued a draft biological opinion last month stating that hydropower dams on the river will not threaten endangered salmon and steelhead populations, despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Now 102 lawmakers have sent a letter to President Bush requesting that the draft be rewritten.

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FDA Approves "Black-Box" Warning for Antidepressants

FDA approved the "black-box" warning for antidepressants last Friday. The warning will alert doctors and patients to the increased risk of suicidality for children using antidepressants. The "black-box" warning is the highest level of warning FDA uses. In approving the new labeling, FDA followed the recommendations of both its advisory panel and a congressional committee, both of which called for the "black-box" label. The label comes amidst a controversy as to FDA's role in alerting the public to the dangers of child use of antidepressants.

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Enforcement of Wildlife Protection Has "Slumped"

A fourth TRAC report released Monday tracks enforcement of wildlife protection laws under the Bush administration. As it turns out, "enforcement of the federal laws designed to protect migratory birds, endangered species, marine mammals and other kinds of wild life has slumped during the Bush Administration, according to authoritative Justice Department data." Filings of felony charges for violations of wildlife protection laws fell by 20 percent during the Bush years and filings of misdemeanors fell by 40 percent. The trend in legal filings varied depending on the statute.

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Making cigarettes even less safe (can you believe it?)

This story comes packed with just enough irony of its own: Legislation just passed by Congress abolishes the requirement that the government inspect imported tobacco to ensure it is not laced with chemicals and pesticides banned in the United States but permitted elsewhere. That means imported leaf, which U.S. tobacco companies are increasingly relying on, could make cigarettes even more harmful, said Tom Glynn, director of science and trends for the American Cancer Society. --Nancy Zuckerbrod, " U.S. to Quit Inspecting Tobacco for Banned Chemicals and Pesticides," A.P., Oct. 18, 2004.

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Fish and amphibians are in peril

Two stories in today's Washington Post, neither likely to make you want to order a nice fish taco or fried frog legs any time soon. First, there is the news that MALE fish in the Potomac are OVULATING. The South Branch of the Potomac River is as clear as bottled water here, where it rolls over a bed of smooth stones about 230 miles upstream from Washington. But there is a mystery beneath this glassy surface. Many of the river's male bass are producing eggs.

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Things getting better on the job or in the environment?

The administration has been replying to critics of the attack on regulatory policy that its choices are being proved right, because things are getting better on the job and in the environment. Reports suggest that the trends may not necessarily back the administration's claims about its policy choices.

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