In The News / Nov 7

• Man held after tonnes of illegal e-waste are exported to Africa.

  A Nigerian man was detained on suspicion of the illegal export of electronic waste from Britain, part of a crackdown on a trade which leaves thousands of tonnes of broken and contaminated electrical goods dumped in the developing world each year. London Independent, United Kingdom

• Waste smuggling made easy in Vietnam.

  Vietnam's doors have been propped wide open for toxic waste smugglers by lax regulations and apathy. Thanhnien News, Vietnam

• Are store-bought soils safe for growing vegetables?

  In a test of six popular brands of bagged soil, it was found that none contained toxic levels of lead, zinc or arsenic. But all contained at least some contaminants, and that's either non-problematic or troubling, depending on whom you ask. Los Angeles Times, California

• Brominated and mixed halogenated dioxins in the Baltic -- and beyond.

  New research points to a natural origin for the Baltic Sea’s dioxins, but pollution may also play a role. Environmental Science & Technology

• Sounding the trumpet.

  It takes a lot to frighten Albertha Hasten, a campaigner for poor citizens of Louisiana, and fellow African-Americans, who suffer disproportionately from contaminated air, water and soil. She fears that this group is going to be threatened again by rising sea levels and hurricanes as a result of climate change. Economist

• Polluters' fear tactics on climate.

  Big polluting companies around the world, employing thousands of lobbyists, are exerting heavy pressure on governments to weaken climate change laws and slow progress on an international climate agreement in Copenhagen, a global investigation reveals. Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

• Scientists warn caribou collapse not unlike disappearance of cod stocks.

  Once, caribou wandered over the Arctic tundra in herds that took days to pass. So great were their numbers - even 20 years ago - that they were able to shake off man's puny imprint on the great barren lands like so many flies on a rump. Canadian Press

• Penn. tells Cabot to clean up its act.

  After a year of chemical spills, water well contamination and an explosion caused by leaking underground methane, Cabot Oil and Gas has been fined $120,000 and ordered to abide by a set of strict regulations if it wants to continue its vast natural gas drilling operation in Pennsylvania. ProPublica

• Stimulus sparks scuffle among high-speed rail boosters.

  Interest in high-speed rail was lukewarm until President Obama packed $8 billion for it into the stimulus package. Now, standing-room-only crowds show up when rail is on the agenda. Greenwire

• Judges exclude all evidence about economic impact from Las Brisas hearing.

  Judges threw out all evidence about Las Brisas Energy Center’s economic impact Friday after a contentious morning of testimony in which a local physician debated the subject with the proposed plant’s lead attorney. Corpus Christi Caller-Times, Texas

• Saluda River threatened by wastewater pollution.

  The Saluda River—a drinking water source for 500,000 people in South Carolina—is the sixth-most endangered river in the nation, according to American Rivers. Anderson Independent Mail, South Carolina

• Dust has yet to settle over new concrete plant.

  A factory nearing completion in Brooklyn has raised protests over its potential effect on the neighborhood’s air quality and changing image. New York Times

• San Francisco leads L.A. in scrappy composting race.

  The race is on bewteeen Los Angeles and San Francisco to see which of the two cities can divert more waste to composting programs. With the recent mandatory food-scrap recycling program in San Francisco, the Bay Area has taken the lead. Los Angeles Times, California