This year is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day on April 22nd, 2010. Join the more than one billion people in 190 countries taking part on this day. Official Website

— Barbara O’Brien

 You probably know that asbestos is dangerous. It can cause diseases such as mesothelioma, a deadly lung cancer, and asbestosis, a debilitating disease that interferes with breathing.

 You may have heard that asbestos is banned in the United States, but it isn’t.  It is still being used in some kinds of flooring and roofing materials; in some automobile parts, such as brake pads; in some fireproof clothing; and in a number of other products. Should this be a concern?

 Maybe.  It is thought the danger is small, but small is not zero. And asbestos has been banned completely in many other countries. Why isn’t it banned in the U.S.?

 Here’s the scoop: In 1989, the Environmental Protection Agency drew up regulations asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act. However, two years later, a New Orleans circuit court of appeal overturned the regulations. As a result of the court’s decision, a ban on new uses of asbestos remained in effect, but old uses remained legal.

 Asbestos is a mineral that breaks into small fibers when disturbed. The fibers are dangerous if ingested and more dangerous if breathed into the lungs. There are two primary kinds of asbestos,  called serpentine and amphibole because of the shapes of the fibers. Amphibole asbestos has been banned globally since the 1980s. It is considered the more dangerous type of asbestos because, if you breathe it, it stays in your lungs longer and causes more damage.

 However, serpentine asbestos, especially a form called “chrysotile,” is still in commercial use in the United States and some other countries.

 So, asbestos isn’t just something found in the attics of old houses. It might be in a product made this year. Which products should be a concern?

 Auto parts, especially brakes or clutch linings.  Major U.S. automakers say they do not use asbestos in their parts. However, “aftermarket” suppliers of replacement parts sometimes do use asbestos. If you buy “off brand” parts to save on auto repairs, there could be asbestos in the brake pads and shoes, clutch linings, and other “friction” car parts. Don’t assume asbestos isn’t in auto parts just because it wasn’t listed on a label.

 Asbestos in brake pads or other parts shouldn’t be a danger to drivers or passengers. However, auto shop workers and home mechanics do risk danger of exposure to asbestos. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has guidelines for minimizing the asbestos danger of working with car parts.

 Construction materials such as roof shingles, floor tiles, cement pipes and boards, caulking compounds, and joint cements. The asbestos in these products is unlikely to break away and become airborne with regular, day-to-day use. If these products someday crumble from age or disaster, however, cleanup crews should take care not to breathe the dust.

 Fireproof clothing and protective gear.  First, if you aren’t a firefighter, stay away from fireproof clothing or fire protection gear. Especially as the clothing and gear become worn, fibers could break away and get into your lungs. If you are a firefighter, wear respirator masks with approved HEPA filters when fighting fires or training in fireproof clothing and gear.

 If you do work with such products, please don’t be complacent just because you feel fine now, seek mesothelioma treatment. It can take many years for symptoms to develop after exposure to asbestos.

Newsweek released their 2009 Green Environmental Ranking list of America’s 500 largest corporations. This could be a good list to keep in mind if you want to work for a company that is making a step in being environmental. A lot of companies may talk about it, but looking at this list may help to see how much the companies are actually doing.

It is an interesting list as 4 out of the top 5 are technology companies. Hewlett-Package is number 1 and Dell is number 2. It seems like computer makers are really making an effort to be green in their supply chain management. IBM, also a computer maker is number 5 and Intel,  a CPU manufacturer is number 4. Sadly, Apple is number 133 which was sort of surprising because they like to say they are pretty green. For a company with such a well known brand recognition and with so many Apple products used, you would expect the company to do a little more.

The ranking is done with environmental researchers LDK Research and Analytics, Trucost, and CorporateRegister.com and is based on actual environmental performance, policies, and reputation.

http://greenrankings.newsweek.com/top500

Back in April, President Obama announced that the Department of Energy will fund two UC Berkeley professors $30 million to research carbno capturing technology. The goal will be to find a way of storing underground the carbon dioxide released from fossil fuel and power plants. My friend is actually helping take part in the research to find the solution. The entire world emits about 6 million tons of carbon dioxide every year and the United States contributes 20% of that. Finding a way to capture that output and store it underground to prevent it from going into the atmosphere would be pretty cool. If we could find a way of reusing the carbon dioxide produced from power plants, that would be nice as well. There are a lot of ways that carbon dioxide gets used and reusing the stored carbon dioxide would be a huge resource. Here are some interesting facts about how carbon dioxide is used. 

• It is used to produce carbonated soft drinks.
• Liquid carbon dioxide is a gold solvent for organic compounds and is used to remove caffeine from coffee.
• carbon dioxide extinguishes flames so fire extinguishers contain pressurized liquid carbon dioxide.
• Pop Rocks is pressurized with carbon dioxide.
• Plants require carbon dioxide to conduct photosynthesis and greenhouses may add additional CO2 into the atmosphere.
• Solid carbon dioxide is also known as dry ice and it is crucial as a refrigerant in the food industry for the transportation of frozen foods and ice cream.
• Dry ice is also used in wine making to cool down grapes after picking to prevent spontaneous fermenting.

 references:

Daily Cal

Wikipedia

I found this article on Yahoo Green about opening those clamshell packages. I always hate opening those packages because there seems to be no easy way to rip it open without cutting it. Some newer packages actually have perforated lines that you can rip in the middle but they still do not work that great. The packaging is great for manufacturers and companies because it is quite tamperproof and is great for display. They can also be dangerous as I am sure plenty of people get cuts but thousands of people every year actually end up in emergency rooms because of those things. The packaging is typically made from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and that is environmentally damaging.

The packages can be opened relatively easy with scissors or even a can opener. What I found to be extremely useful is the Black and Decker Cordless Power Scissor. All you need to do is just put the scissor along the edge and push the button as it runs up each side. If you run it through all four sides, you end up with a easily opened package.