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Going Green? Bah! GOP Brings Back Foam Cups

Republicans reverse Democrats' green initiatives in Congress cafeterias

(Newser) - The Republicans are back in control of the House, and they're bringing something with them: styrofoam cups. The cups, along with plastic forks and a number of other things seen as not eco-friendly, were done away with four years ago by Nancy Pelosi to reduce Congress's carbon footprint. Now, the...

Maine Gov. Paul LePage: Don't Sweat BPA Dangers, 'Worst Case Is Some Women May Have Little Beards'
Maine Gov:
Don't Sweat
BPA Dangers
Feb 24, 2011 9:45 AM CST

Maine Gov: Don't Sweat BPA Dangers

'Worst case is some women may have little beards," says LePage

(Newser) - If you're worried about the dangers of BPA , you shouldn't be, according to Maine’s governor. The worst thing that could result from exposure to the chemical is that some women could grow "little beards," Paul LePage said last week. LePage made the comment to support his argument...

Big Stink: Great Garbage Patch's Size Exaggerated

Think 1% the size of Texas, not twice as big

(Newser) - The "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" is often said to be twice the size of Texas—but that and other scary-sounding claims are “grossly exaggerated,” some scientists are now insisting. A new study shows the plastic waste patch is actually 200 times smaller than previously claimed when comparing...

Mystery Swirls Around Atlantic Garbage Patch

It's just not growing, say scientists

(Newser) - Though you may be more familiar with its more famous cousin, the Texas-size Great Pacific Garbage Patch, there does indeed exist a mass of tiny plastic pieces in the Atlantic. But the North Atlantic Gyre is turning out to be the more mysterious of the two: A two-decades-long study released...

Petroleum Is Everywhere ... Including Your Shower
 Petroleum Is Everywhere 
 ...  Including Your Shower 
OIL SPILL FALLOUT
Jun 13, 2010 5:17 AM CDT

Petroleum Is Everywhere ... Including Your Shower

Chemicals touch on every aspect of modern life

(Newser) - Before you vow to exact revenge for the BP oil catastrophe by swearing off petroleum, take a look around: It's everywhere. Not just in the gas tank of your car, but all over the car, in your closet, in your kitchen, even in your shower. "A bottle of shampoo...

Plastic Garbage Patch Found in Atlantic
 Plastic Garbage Patch 
 Found in Atlantic 
in case you missed it
Apr 18, 2010 3:10 PM CDT

Plastic Garbage Patch Found in Atlantic

Covers thousands of square miles, endangers fish

(Newser) - If you’re planning on taking a cruise, hopefully your ship won’t travel through the “great Atlantic garbage patch” that covers thousands of square miles between Bermuda and the Azores islands. The plastic debris is so small that some pieces are almost invisible, and the floating trash heap—...

IBM Creates Plastic From Plants

(Newser) - IBM has created a form of plastic that is made from plants, the company announced today. Researchers claim that the process can lead to the replacement of petroleum-based plastics that are killing our planet. "This discovery and new approach using organic catalysts could lead to well-defined, biodegradable molecules made...

'Plastic Sea' Found North of Caribbean

Atlantic plastic patch threatening food chain

(Newser) - Researchers trying to determine just how much plastic trash is building up in the world's oceans have found a large concentration just north of the Caribbean. The study—based on more than 22,000 plastic fragments collected over the years—found that a huge area between 22 and 38 degrees...

Self-Healing 'Smart Mud' Could Replace Plastic

Researchers excited about new substance's potential

(Newser) - Japanese researchers have developed a clay-based substance they believe has the potential to become an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic. The team mixed small amounts of clay with water, a thickening agent called sodium polyacrylate, and a specially designed molecular glue, producing a gel strong enough to hold its own...

Bottled Water Sales Head Down the Drain

Environmentalists claim credit; industry blames economy

(Newser) - Bottled water sales are sinking, and environmentalists point triumphantly to their hard-fought campaign against the wasteful industry. Consumption is expected to drop 2% this year, following a 3.2% drop last year, MSNBC reports. But industry executives say it’s just a natural result of the economic downturn, noting that...

Plastics Chemical Linked to Male Sex Problems

Widely used BPA comes under more fire

(Newser) - A study of workers exposed to high levels of bisphenol A—a chemical widely used in plastic bottles and packaging—have a much higher incidence of sexual dysfunction than their counterparts. The study of Chinese workers found those exposed to BPA were 4 times more likely to report erectile dysfunction...

Hungary Holds 'Miss Plastic' Pageant

Beauty contest offers prizes to the surgically-enhanced—and their surgeons

(Newser) - Boob jobs, facelifts, and new noses were on parade in Budapest last night as Hungary held its first "Miss Plastic" pageant. The winners—who had to prove they had actually gone under the knife—received prizes including a new apartment and a new car, and their surgeons took home...

Wine, Meet Your Future: Plastics

(Newser) - Screw tops, boxes, and now—plastic bottles? A move is afoot to package wine in low-cost, lighter plastic containers, the Los Angeles Times reports. The bottles come with an expiration date because the plastic does not provide the same airtight seal as glass. But because most wine sold in the...

Plastic Wine Bottles Eco-Friendly, but Drink It Fast

Wine can go bad after less than a year

(Newser) - Some are looking to recycled plastic bottles as the future of wine packaging—but though they are more eco-friendly, such bottles are less wine-friendly, Reuters reports. They’re “fine for wine you plan to use under 12 months, but not for wines that are designed to improve in the...

I Know What Happened to Flight 447: Trump

Posts theory on his blog about 'plastic rudders'

(Newser) - Donald Trump: entrepreneur, reality show host, airline safety investigator. The real estate mogul has a friend who makes handcarts out of the same material the Airbus 330 rudders are made of, so the Donald has a theory about Air France Flight 447, the New York Post reports.

Controversial Chemical Leaches From Bottles to Water

BPA levels jump 69% in H2O drinkers

(Newser) - One aspect of the bisphenol A controversy can be put to rest: drinking from clear plastic bottles does increase the amount of the chemical in the body. The extent of BPA's effects on healthy adults is still not well known, but the FDA says existing exposure levels aren't high enough...

Try Plastic-Free Living —for a Week

Trib reporter couldn't do it

(Newser) - Plastic is getting bad press lately, so one writer decided to try living plastic-free: Could her family of four go an entire week without the synthetic stuff? Short answer: No, Trine Tsouderos writes in the Chicago Tribune. The paper diapers leaked, and finding food not packaged in plastic was a...

Barbies of the Future May Grow on Trees

Researchers use wood and wax to make biodegradable alternative

(Newser) - Wooden toys may not be so 1850s, scientists say. A bioplastic made from trees has been used to make everything from golf tees to car parts in recent years, but its sulfurous stink kept it out of the toy market. Now a sulfur-free version of "liquid wood" is available,...

Disney's New 'Tomorrowland' House as Bland as Leftovers

'Furiously unimaginative' update reflects down period in our culture: O'Rourke

(Newser) - In the 1950s, Disneyland wowed visitors and architecture aficionados with its dynamic vision of domesticity in its House of the Future, but, as PJ O’Rourke laments in the Atlantic, Disney’s latest house is “almost furiously unimaginative.” A peek at Disney’s domestic vision finds a future...

Amazon Leads Charge Against Clamshell Packaging

(Newser) - Stories of angry and even injured customers have inspired companies to ditch sealed clamshell packaging for easy-to-open alternatives, the New York Times reports. Amazon leads the pack, working with suppliers to ship products in plain cardboard boxes ahead of the holidays. Even some offline companies, which rely on clamshells to...

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