The evidence that rice is particularly efficient at absorbing arsenic from soil and irrigation water is not new information. Residues of this toxic and carcinogenic metal in rice have been measured for decades. The new data reported this past September by FDA and Consumer's...

James Hansen, the famed NASA scientist/climate prophet, has a much discussed and self-touted analysis this week declaring that the extreme heat we have seen over the last decade, from Russia to Texas, is part of an emerging pattern of man-made climate change. Others may consider it unscientific to...

Some look on in horror at the objectification of little girls in beauty pageants -- perhaps even a form of child abuse. Who knows what kind of psychological trauma the excessive focus on looks and competition breeds into pre-pre-tweens. Aside from loss of toddlerhood, a new toxicity, this one of...

Feeling bombarded by all the springtime lawn chemical ads? The hyped products spread enough fertilizer and pesticide to bombard your lawn within an inch of its life and make it dependent on more treatments -- a great way to selling more product. The "junkie" lawn may push up healthy-looking grass,...

New research from the National Cancer Institute documents elevated cancer risk in miners exposed to diesel exhaust underground. Their study of 12,000 miners and their diesel particulate matter (DPM) exposure revealed correlations with lung cancer down to the lowest levels of exposure. Yes, cancer risk was significant even...

New data from Dartmouth College has found elevated levels of arsenic in foods and infant formula that are sweetened with rice syrup. The data demonstrate the gaping holes in the regulation of our food supply, which is not a new story. But there is a new...

Several weeks ago, a fungicide called carbendazim was found in imported orange juice from Brazil. It's a toxic pesticide that's not supposed to be in orange juice, but evidently Brazilian growers thought they could secretly use it. A juice maker, Coca-Cola found the problem and to their credit...

The flow of goods and services has an ugly underbelly that isn't part of the balance sheet. Under the radar is the flow of byproducts of our consumption, toxic waste that finds a home wherever regulations are most lax. The collateral damage of this toxic free trade is borne most...

The Wars on Drugs and Poverty in the 1960s were obviously not literal wars involving guns and bombs. They were wars of conscience and responsibility - a recognition that there is an illness, an evil, an injustice that damages the fabric of society. A recognition that we have to seek...

Would a modern educated society allow their children to eat rat poison? I was shocked to find out that we do. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported last week that 10,000 toddlers are poisoned every year from the ingestion of rat poison; a sobering statistic that makes even a toxicologist...

Some people argue that climate change is a left wing conspiracy intended to scare people into willingly accepting a new enviro-tax called cap and trade. Yet it shouldn't take a scientist or prophet to know that controlling our carbon emissions is about a lot more than climate or taxes. The...