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Jul 11

2013

Air pollution linked to lung cancer, heart failure

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Air pollution can cause lung cancer and increase the risk of heart failure, according to two studies published Tuesday in The Lancet Journal. The first study found that extended exposure to particulate air pollution commonly called soot can increase the risk of lung cancer even at concentrations below European Union limits, which are stricter than U.S. limits in some instances. The research led the authors to question whether there are safe levels of air pollution. The second study found that heart failure or death was associated with increases in a number of air pollutants. These studies have some meaning locally[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Jul 11

2013

Critical look at Cuomo’s Start-Up NY

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David Cay Johnston, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of best selling books on tax and economic policy, is no fan of Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Start-Up NY program. Or the governor, for that matter. “His new law undermines market economics and promotes corporate socialism, in which profits are privatized and costs are socialized,” Johnston writes in a piece for City Newspaper in Rochester. “Cuomo’s plan redistributes wealth upwards, showing that he is no Democrat in the traditional sense that Democrats care about working people,” Johnston wrote. “Rather, Cuomo is part of the growing cadre of politicians whose success depends on[...]

Posted 12 years ago

Jul 10

2013

Toronto flooding aftermath

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A Lake Ontario Waterkeeper member estimated that more than 200 million gallons of sewer overflowed into Lake Ontatio after a drenching of rain in Toronto flooded streets and overwhelmed the sewer systems there. City water officials contested the estimate.

Posted 12 years ago

Jul 7

2013

U.S. emerging as the world’s snoop

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Glenn Greenwald’s latest column concludes: “The US government – in complete secrecy – is constructing a ubiquitous spying apparatus aimed not only at its own citizens, but all of the world’s citizens.”

Posted 12 years ago

Jul 3

2013

Feds back off on fracking study

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Reports ProPublica: “Environmentalists see an agency (EPA) that is systematically disengaging from any research that could be perceived as questioning the safety of fracking or oil drilling.”

Posted 12 years ago

Jul 1

2013

Tests not best gauge of beach pollution

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Tests used to determine if water at beaches is safe to swim in may not be accurate, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo and Mercyhurst University. The problem: The most commonly used test fails to distinguish from toxic and more benign forms of contaminants. As a result, authorities sometimes close beaches when they don’t need to, or keep them open when they shouldn’t. Health departments in Erie, Niagara and Chautauqua counties take water samples from 22 beaches – Erie on a daily basis at six major beaches – and test for fecal coliform and E. coli.[...]

Posted 12 years ago
Investigative Post