Many exciting developments are happening in chemistry. Some are theoretical and aid our understanding of the universe, while others have application potential and will soon be incorporated into cool gadgets, and yet others are immediately relevant to our health and environment and are affecting us now. Click on the links below to learn more about the topics personally handpicked by profTK.
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August 22, 2008 Academies Panel Finds Public Participation Improves Quality of Environmental Decisions (National Academies). More info |
August 21, 2008 F.D.A. Allows Irradiation of Some Produce (NY Times). More info |
August 16, 2008 Controversial chemical bisphenol A is safe, FDA says (FDA). More info |
August 14, 2008 President Signs the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, H.R.4040, into Law (White House). More info |
August 5, 2008 EPA Releases Risk-Based Evaluations of 26 Chemicals (EPA). More info |
July 17, 2008 Sustainability Reporting by S&P 100 Companies Made major Advances From 2005-2007 (Siran). More info |
July 17, 2008 Generational Challenge to Repower America (Al Gore). More info |
July 14, 2008 McCain and Obama Take on Environmental Concerns (US News & World Report). More info |
July 11, 2008 EPA Won't Act on Emissions This Year; Releases Greenhouse Gas Document for Public Comment (Washington Post). More info |
July 11, 2008 An American life is worth $1 million less than it was 5 years ago, EPA says (Newsweek). More info |
July 3, 2008 Green Countries: Global Report Card on Nations Doing the Most, and Least, to Clean Up the Environment (Newsweek). More info |
June 30, 2008 Chemists seek environmentally friendlier compounds and formulations for fireworks and flares (C&EN). More info |
June 30, 2008 I Have Just One Word for You: Bioplastics (Business Week). More info |
June 28, 2008 Citing Need for Assessments, U.S. Freezes Solar Energy Projects (NY Times). More info |
June 26, 2008 EPA proposes to classify key solvent in dry cleaning as likely human carcinogen (EPA). More info |
June 19, 2008 White House Directs Federal Agencies to Establish Environment Indicators (White House). More info |
June 17, 2008 Latest Honda Runs on Hydrogen, Not Petroleum (NY Times). More info |
June 16, 2008 Scientists Help To Explain Diversity of Molecular Structures (CAS). More info |
June 16, 2008 Contained Chemistry (C&EN). More info |
June 12, 2008 European Chemical Law Has Global Impact (Washington Post). More info |
June 3, 2008 In shift, FDA says mercury fillings may harm some (FDA). More info |
June 3, 2008 Experts Revive Debate Over Cellphones and Cancer (New York Times). More info |
May 31, 2008 Administration Moves to Avert a Late Rules Rush (New York Times). More info |
May 28, 2008 New tests find BPA in kids' canned food containers (CTV). More info |
May 26, 2008 European Chemicals Agency issues an updated guidance to help firms understand their obligations for registration under the Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals (ECA). More info |
May 23, 2008 Chemical Hearing Pits Senators Against FDA (Pump Handle). More info |
May 12, 2008 Seeking Sustainability (C&EN). More info |
May 8, 2008 If energy conservation both saves money and is good for the planet, why don't people do more of it (Economist). More info |
May 5, 2008 Forever Waste: Radioactive waste raises ethical questions of intergenerational responsiblities (C&EN). More info |
May 1, 2008 "State of the Air" reports says that nearly 125 million Americans live in an area with unhealthy levels of air pollution (American Lung Association). More info |
April 29, 2008 Low Productivity and New Interagency Review Process Limit the Usefulness and Credibility of EPA's Integrated Risk Information System (GAO Report on Chemical Assessment). More info |
April 29, 2008 Putting Meat on the Table: Industrial Farm Production in America (Report of the Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production). More info |
April 25, 2008 How Much Do Chemicals Affect Our Health (Discover). More info |
April 18, 2008 Briefing: Nuclear power (CNN). More info |
April 17, 2008 OECD Summarizes Global Regulatory, Other Developments on Nanomaterials (OECD). More info |
April 17, 2008 Toxic Stock Syndrome: How Corporate Financial Reports Fail to Apprise Investors of the Risks of Product Recalls and Toxic Liabilities (IEHN). More info |
April 16, 2008 President Bush Sets 2025 Goal for Stopping Growth of Greenhouse Gas Emission (NPR). More info |
April 15, 2008 Federal efforts on nanotechnology praised by White House (PCAST). More info |
April 14, 2008 National Toxicology Program expresses some concern that exposure to bisphenol A causes neural and behavioral effects in fetuses, infants, and children at current human exposures (NTP). More info |
April 9, 2008 Do-it-yourself power; squeezing a few watts out of everyday life (ES&T). More info |
April 9, 2008 A new focus on plastic ingredient, BPA, in bottles and cans (Consumer Reports). More info |
April 8, 2008 'Revolutionary' Carbon Dioxide Maps Zoom In On Greenhouse Gas Sources (ScienceDaily). More info |
April 3, 2008 The Great Forgotten Clean-Energy Source: Geothermal (Discover). More info |
April 2, 2008 Industry provides ingredient information to Canadians (Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association). More info |
April 1, 2008 Governor Gregoire signs legislation improving toy safety (Washington State Office of the Governor). More info |
March 31, 2008 New EPA requirements to protect children from lead-based paint hazards
(US EPA). More info |
March 29, 2008 The symposium on Breaking the Logjam: An Environmental Law for the 21st Century (NYU). More info |
March 28, 2008 EPA Policy Committee releases report: "Everyone's Business: Working Towards Sustainability Through Environmental Stewardship and Collaboration" (EPA). More info |
March 26, 2008 Business schools teach environmental studies (US News World Report). More info |
March 26, 2008 A Turn to Alternative Chemicals (NY Times). More info |
March 25, 2008 China's Three Gorges Dam: An Environmental Catastrophe (Scientific American). More info |
March 25, 2008 States alter rules of game on safety for toy makers (Wall Street Journal). More info |
March 18, 2008 EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson unveils Chemicals Assessment and Management Program, or ChAMP, during his keynote address at the 2008 Global Chemical Regulation Conference (EPA). More info |
March 14, 2008 EPA issues tougher pollution rules for diesel-powered ships and locomotives (Washington Post). More info |
March 13, 2008 Green Building in North America: Opportunities and Challenges (Commission for Environmental Cooperation). More info |
March 13, 2008 Boeing's new laser cannon can melt a hole in a tank from five miles away and 10,000 feet up (Popular Science). More info |
March 12, 2008 EPA strengthened national standards for ground-level ozone levels (EPA). More info |
March 12, 2008 CDC releases draft linking pollution to health problems (Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry). More info |
March 11, 2008 Are dangerous toxins lurking in your everyday products (Chicago Tribune). More info |
March 10, 2008 Prescription drugs found in drinking water across U.S. (USA Today). More info |
March 7, 2008 U.S. EPA releases report: Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990-2006 (U.S. EPA). More info |
March 7, 2008 Senate votes for safer products; biggest change is likely to be a better-staffed Consumer Product Safety Commission with more enforcement power (Washington Post). More info |
March 3, 2008 First step to CO2 sequestration to be tested at Wisconsin coal-fired power plant (C&EN). More info |
March 3, 2008 Green - Up to a Point (BusinessWeek). More info |
March 2, 2008 Increasing dependence on the grain leaves the U.S. vulnerable to drought-induced price spikes in food and fuel (Los Angeles Times). More info |
March 1, 2008 Non-Toxic Tots (Washington Post). More info |
February 28, 2008 Uncharged organic molecule can bind negatively charged ions
(ScienceDaily). More info |
February 26, 2008 First 30,000 pages have been unveiled of a vast encyclopedia which aims to catalog every one of our planet's 1.8 million species (Encyclopedia of Life). More info |
February 25, 2008 Pharmaceuticals in the environment (C&EN). More info |
February 21, 2008 Toxic releases are down 2 percent from the previous year, according to new EPA data from the Toxics Release Inventory (EPA). More info |
February 21, 2008 EPA announces that it is proposing to study 93 chemicals and 11 microbes in its draft Contaminant Candidate List for drinking water regulation (EPA). More info |
February 20, 2008 LDDI Report: Scientific Consensus Statement on Environmental Factors (Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative). More info |
February 20, 2008 Lowell Center for Sustainable Production says that that "current regulatory and agency structures for protecting the public
from chemical hazards in consumer products are inadequate and in need of reform" (Lowell Center). 1st Report 2nd Report |
February 20, 2008 Scientists create a black that erases virtually all Llight (Washington Post). More info |
February 19, 2008 Food containers leach bisphenol A, potentially harmful chemical (Scientific American). More info |
February 14, 2008 NIH and EPA collaborate on chemical testing program that is anticipated to generate data more relevant to humans, expand the number of chemicals that are tested, and reduce the time, money and number of animals involved in testing (NIEHS, EPA). More info |
February 13, 2008 Fabrics that could produce electricity when worn (CBS News). More info |
February 8, 2008 EPA is raising the 2008 renewable fuels standard to 7.76 percent (US EPA). More info |
February 4, 2008 Many common household products contain compounds that could be affecting our health (Newsweek). More info |
February 4, 2008 Congress is investigating the Weinberg Group, a firm which critics charge manufactures uncertainty on behalf of chemical companies to help keep their products free from government bans or other restrictions (ABC News). More info |
February 4, 2008 Baby care products are possible sources of infant phthalate exposure (Environmental Health News). More info |
February 1, 2008 NICEATM-ICCVAM five-year plan to further reduce, refine and replace the use of animals in research and regulatory testing (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences ). More info |
January 31, 2008 California's green chemistry initiative: Options Report includes 818 options on ways to reduce the effects of toxic chemicals on people and the environment (California EPA). More info |
January 31, 2008 Hydrogen-bonded crystalline assembly undergoes new motion: tilting (C&EN). More info |
January 30, 2008 California legislation calls for disclosure by companies of the contents in the consumer products (Legislative Counsel of California). More info |
January 28, 2008 Helium-8 study gives insight into nuclear theory, neutron stars (PhysOrg). More info |
January 28, 2008 Air purifiers draw scrutiny for producing ozone (Wall Street Journal). More info |
January 28, 2008 EPA releases final Federal Register notice describing Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program (US EPA). More info |
January 23, 2008 Judging science: raising the bar on introducing scientific data into lawsuit hearings (Science News). More info |
January 23, 2008 Join the world’s leading environmental scientists and policy makers at the 7th annual EPA Science Forum: May 20-22, 2008 (US EPA). More info |
January 23, 2008 U.S. Given Poor Marks on the Environment (New York Times). More info |
January 21, 2008 Greener Cleaners: meeting the consumer demand for environmentally friendly cleaning products (C&EN). More info |
January 17, 2008 Report: Green Chemistry - Cornerstone to a Sustainable California (UC Centers for Occupational and Environmental Health). More info |
January 17, 2008 Greening of corporate social responsibility (Eocnomist). More info |
January 16, 2008 Scientists take complaints about interference to Hill (Washington Post). More info |
January 15, 2008 FDA says clones are safe to eat as food (US FDA). More info |
January 14, 2008 Breakthrough Could Mean 40-Hour Laptop Batteries (NewsFactor). More info |
January 14, 2008 Unanticipated details about the mechanism of the bimolecular nucleophilic substitution (SN2) reaction are uncovered (C&EN). More info |
January 14, 2008 Protons may be neurotransmitters (C&EN). More info |
January 10, 2008 New nuclear plants in UK get go-ahead (BBC). More info |
January 7, 2008 The centrality of chemistry: our challenges and opportunities (President of American Chemical Society; C&EN). More info |
January 7, 2008 New world for biofuels (C&EN). More info |
January 7, 2008 50 people who could save the planet (Guardian). More info |
January 4, 2008 Scientists use sunlight to make fuel from CO2 (Wired). More info |
January 3, 2008 California and 15 other U.S. states announce lawsuit against EPA for failing to act on California’s tailpipe emissions request (CA Office of Governor). More info |
January 1, 2008 Recall scares spur Congress to increase the budget and power of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (Chicago Tribune). More info |
January 1, 2008 President Bush signs bill strengthening Freedom Of Information Act, giving the public and the media greater access to information about what the government is doing (Associated Press). More info |
January 1, 2008 European Food Safety Agency says that cloned animals are safe for consumption (International Herald Tribune). More info |
January 1, 2008 January is National Radon Action Month (US EPA). More info |