Some major brands of shampoo, shower gel and dish soap marketed as ‘natural’ or ‘organic’ contain small amounts of a potentially dangerous chemical, according to a report released yesterday by the Organic Consumers Association. The OCA, which represents consumers and manufacturers in the natural and organic foods industry, said an independent lab’s tests of more than 100 personal-care products sold in natural-food stores found trace amounts of 1,4-dioxane in 46 products. The petroleum-based solvent, which causes cancer in animals, is not added to the items but appears as a byproduct of manufacturing. Some of the products tested had the U.S. Department of Agriculture organic seal, and none of those contained 1,4-dioxane. The report is the latest salvo in a five-year battle over marketing claims that has divided the booming natural-products industry. The group said the presence of 1,4-dioxane poses a health risk and undermines natural and organic claims by some manufacturers. But government regulators disagree on whether trace amounts of 1,4-dioxane in personal-care and household products are dangerous. The Food and Drug Administration, which regulates personal-care products, said the amounts typically found in cosmetics ‘do not present a hazard to consumers.’ The Consumer Product Safety […]
LONG BEACH / NEAR LAS VEGAS, NEVADA — In Long Beach, an unveiling: solar panels have been installed at the airport there. Officials say they will reduce energy consumption and serve as a visible example of alternative energy for travelers. And that’s not the only place where solar power is making a splash. It is a shimmering oasis of clean power in the desert, 32 miles from the glitter of Las Vegas: mirrors that reflect the sun’s heat and generate energy without producing carbon dioxide. ‘It’s zero carbon emissions, so with global warming becoming more and more of an issue, this plant is providing utility-scale renewable energy with no carbon emissions,’ said Peter Duprey, CEO of Accione Energy. The third largest solar power plant in the world – the size of 300 football fields – could help wean Nevada off electricity powered by natural gas and coal. Time lapse photography shows how the mirrors track the sun, warming pipes filled with fluid to 735 degrees. ‘Here we heat something up, generate steam to run a steam turbine, and produce electricity,’ said Bob Cable, Solar One Plant Manager. The pollution-free power is equivalent […]
Spanish renewable energy firm Sener and Abu Dhabi’s clean-energy initiative, Masdar, announced a joint venture on Wednesday to build several power plants fueled by the sun’s heat. The newly created firm, Torresol Energy, said it plans to build at least two large concentrating solar power plants a year with a goal of generating 320 megawatts over the next 5 years and 1,000 megawatts in 10 years. A large coal-fired power plant typically can produce hundreds of megawatts of electricity. In a solar tower, mirrors reflect light to generate heat at the tower top where steam is made to turn a turbine. (Credit: Torresol Energy) One of the designs that the venture intends to use is a solar receiver tower to be built in Abu Dhabi. In a tower construction, several mirrors are mounted on the ground to reflect light to the top of a tower, where steam is created to turn an electricity turbine. A handful of other companies, including BrightSource Energy and eSolar, are pursuing a similar tower design. The new company underscores the surge in investment on solar thermal technologies, which use the sun’s heat, rather than photovoltaic panels, to generate electricity. […]
SAO PAULO, Brazil — Antique store owners in lower Manhattan, ticket vendors at India’s Taj Mahal and Brazilian business executives heading to China all have one thing in common these days: They don’t want U.S. dollars. Hit by a free fall with no end in sight, the once mighty U.S. dollar is no longer just crashing on currency markets and making life more expensive for American tourists and business people abroad; its clout is evaporating worldwide as foreign businesses and individuals turn to other currencies. Experts say the bleak U.S. economic forecast means it will take years for the greenback to recover its value and prestige. Negative dollar sentiment is growing in nations where the dollar was historically accepted as equal or better than local currency — and dollar aversion is even extending to some quarters in the United States. At the Taj Mahal, dollars were always legal tender, alongside rupees, for entry into the palace. But because of the falling value of the dollar, the government implemented a rupees-only policy a month ago. Indian merchants catering to tourists have also turned bearish on the dollar. ‘Gone are the days when we used to […]
Butterflies and moths are well known for their striking metamorphosis from caterpillars to winged adults. The drastic changes-not only in body, but also in lifestyle, diet and sensory responses-might make one think the adults forget anything they learned as a caterpillar. A moth or butterfly may be able to remember what it learned as a caterpillar, researchers say. Above, the the tobacco hornworm caterpillar, Manduca sexta. But one would be wrong. At least, that’s the conclusion of a new study by scientists at Georgetown University in Washington. They found that within limits, a moth can indeed remember what it learned as a caterpillar, which is essentially a larva. The researchers trained tobacco hornworm caterpillars to avoid particular smells by delivering them along with a mild shock. As adults, the moths also avoided the odors, showing the memory stayed, the investigators said. Similar memory capacity may well exist in butterflies, their evolutionary cousins in an order of insects called Lepidoptera, according to the scientists. ‘The intriguing idea that a caterpillar’s experiences can persist in the adult butterfly or moth captures the imagination, as it challenges a broadlyheld view of metamorphosis-that the larva essentially turns […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
