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Sure, and the main agents used are relatively safe to humans despite being toxic to insects (much safer than many of the pesticides that have been used in conventional farming over the years), biodegrade quickly, and don't get into water runoff in significant quantities.

Obviously, I'm not claiming there's some magical difference between a synthesized chemical and a chemical extracted from a plant. Rather, it's a difference between using chemicals that have been known to be safe to humans for years rather than chemicals chosen for their maximal toxicity to insects and cheapness of manufacture that have been deemed safe by FDA, one of the most absurdly ineffectual organizations I've ever seen.

How many drugs have been on the market and later pulled by FDA? How many pesticides are now banned? I don't think it's unreasonable to feel more safe with the constrained, less toxic set of pesticide agents used by organic farmers.

http://www.scorecard.org/ranking/ was the first google hit for "pollution for state" VA is ahead of CA in Total Toxic Chemical Emissions.

California produces about 3.5x as much CO2, for example, as Virginia.

Actually, my statement is referring to the fact that Virginia has around 71 million pounds of reported toxic chemical releases per annum. California has about 45 million pounds of reported releases.

If you're going to report solely on the basis of C02 emissions, then you should also consider that this is not a good indicator for how much a state pollutes in total. We all know there are plenty of pollutants out there besides C02, and of course the highest emitters of the gas are going to be states with large populations.

My statement was specifically refuting that California is one of the worst polluters in the nation. This simply does not stand up to the facts, if you look at the picture of environmental impact in total.

Not to be rude but you, good sir, are talking out of your ass. My brother was 14 when he died of pancreatic cancer. He wasn't suffering from "psychological conditions," he wasn't "unwilling to forgive someone" for some imaginary event that caused his body to somehow psychosomatically create the cancer that killed him. You want to know what I think caused his cancer? I think it was Doe Run and Dow Chemical polluting the crap out of the everything around them. We lived in Herculaneum, MO for the first 10 years of his life, and it wouldn't surprise me in the least if that was the cause. Your touchy-feely approach on this smacks of New Age "science" with nothing to back it up. "Oh it was their own feelings that did it!" Right. I suppose next you're going to start telling people that Thetans are causing all the world's ills.

It does feel good walking on recycled tyre foam, it was used as a spongy concrete-like playground safety base for awhile. Then the scuttle got out about how tyre manufacturing uses cadmium as a colour fixant, and it seems to have stopped being used.

Cadmium is a nasty pollutant. Tire dust has enough cadmium (etc.) in it to be a real concern; they voluntarily took it out of pesticides in '97, but it is still used in many manufacturing processes. Direct application to the feet by walking on it barefoot is only going to increase our already elevated intake.

I agree wholeheartedly that architects need to get out of their CAD caves and back into the tribe, watch the patterns of movement and usage, and design for that. You know, what actually happens, instead of what looks pretty on a freakin' screen. If your design anticipates everyday behaviour, it will be pretty enough. Slap all the gewgaws you want on it after thinking about living vectors.

The article states that the instrument's response is based on a pollution database, http://www.scorecard.org/ and a corporate ethics database http://www.ethicalconsumer.org/research/corporate_ researcher.html

I think it's more of a (witty, IMO) satirical stunt item than anything that the guy thinks would actually be useful.

All in the name of progress! Where are we going to go when this place becomes so hot and toxic that only the people who made billions polluting it will afford the luxury of living here.

All in the name of progress! Where are we going to go when this place becomes so hot and toxic that only the people who made billions polluting it will afford the luxury of living here.

You're right, I haven't lived there, and don't know much about it. I have driven through Jersey though, and it is a nightmare. Left turn? Forget it!

Enjoy your toxic waste sites, Hazardous Air Pollution (all sources), and gardens.

It must be really great to live in a state that is #1 in Point Source Hazardous Air Pollutants (point sources)

Ben

You're right, I haven't lived there, and don't know much about it. I have driven through Jersey though, and it is a nightmare. Left turn? Forget it!

Enjoy your toxic waste sites, Hazardous Air Pollution (all sources), and gardens.

It must be really great to live in a state that is #1 in Point Source Hazardous Air Pollutants (point sources)

Ben

You're right, I haven't lived there, and don't know much about it. I have driven through Jersey though, and it is a nightmare. Left turn? Forget it!

Enjoy your toxic waste sites, Hazardous Air Pollution (all sources), and gardens.

It must be really great to live in a state that is #1 in Point Source Hazardous Air Pollutants (point sources)

Ben

California and Texas both have more superfund sites than NJ

You sure? (see here) Even if CA and TX did have more superfund sites, NJ is MUCH smaller. I'm really glad I don't live there and I feel sorry for those that do. Is there any reason that NJ has so many toxic sites for such a small state?

Also check out New Jersey Land Report and Superfund sites in New Jersey

Ben

California and Texas both have more superfund sites than NJ

You sure? (see here) Even if CA and TX did have more superfund sites, NJ is MUCH smaller. I'm really glad I don't live there and I feel sorry for those that do. Is there any reason that NJ has so many toxic sites for such a small state?

Also check out New Jersey Land Report and Superfund sites in New Jersey

Ben

California and Texas both have more superfund sites than NJ

You sure? (see here) Even if CA and TX did have more superfund sites, NJ is MUCH smaller. I'm really glad I don't live there and I feel sorry for those that do. Is there any reason that NJ has so many toxic sites for such a small state?

Also check out New Jersey Land Report and Superfund sites in New Jersey

Ben

From the DHMO FAQ, in the website you mention:

Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid.

I am not a chemist, so I searched all those names in the best source I know (which is here), and found that Dihydrogen Oxide is a fancy name of water (H2O).

scorecard.org (founded by Philip Greenspun, by the way) contains a whole lot of information about pollutants. They maintain a list of suspected neurotoxicants (the section about mercury compounds is a little scary).

From the DHMO FAQ, in the website you mention:

Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid.

I am not a chemist, so I searched all those names in the best source I know (which is here), and found that Dihydrogen Oxide is a fancy name of water (H2O).

scorecard.org (founded by Philip Greenspun, by the way) contains a whole lot of information about pollutants. They maintain a list of suspected neurotoxicants (the section about mercury compounds is a little scary).

From the DHMO FAQ, in the website you mention:

Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid.

I am not a chemist, so I searched all those names in the best source I know (which is here), and found that Dihydrogen Oxide is a fancy name of water (H2O).

scorecard.org (founded by Philip Greenspun, by the way) contains a whole lot of information about pollutants. They maintain a list of suspected neurotoxicants (the section about mercury compounds is a little scary).

From the DHMO FAQ, in the website you mention:

Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO) is a colorless and odorless chemical compound, also referred to by some as Dihydrogen Oxide, Hydrogen Hydroxide, Hydronium Hydroxide, or simply Hydric acid.

I am not a chemist, so I searched all those names in the best source I know (which is here), and found that Dihydrogen Oxide is a fancy name of water (H2O).

scorecard.org (founded by Philip Greenspun, by the way) contains a whole lot of information about pollutants. They maintain a list of suspected neurotoxicants (the section about mercury compounds is a little scary).

I'd also point out Philip Greenspun's scorecard.org, a clearing house for environmental data. It's a very accessible, data-rich site that might be a sort of model for things a government data-distribution site could do.

This may or may not be relevant, but scorecard.org has info on who makes what pollution where. Additionally, it has contacts so you can email or send a fax to companies that are polluting your area. Check it out!

This in just another example of one of the many benefits that Arsdigita has contributed to the community. I have been following their Open Source toolkit they use for building online communities and they were influential in convincing AOL to Open Source AOLServer which after evaluated multiple web servers I decided as being the perfect tool for my own web site. The company also has a foundation encouraging young people to build community beneficial sites that gives out a scholarship every year. The company also has a track record for building sites that are *useful* to society ie an environmental aware site and adopt a pet site and an online charity site and an online legal resouce for consumers and the list goes on. They additional continually offer 1 day, 2 day, 3 week free training courses on their own Open Source software. I for one am happy to see that in todays society where corporations are constantly known for their despicable deeds am happy to see a company that gives back. I personally have gleaned much from their resources and would just like to say thanx.

I would say that you are just as guilty of "glossing over" information to make your point. If you use statistics at least be complete. To your credit you did give a link so others could check the data. t his link takes you to the superfund data on Santa Clara county (decide for yourself if they are still polluting.)

I would say that you are just as guilty of "glossing over" information to make your point. If you use statistics at least be complete. To your credit you did give a link so others could check the data. t his link takes you to the superfund data on Santa Clara county (decide for yourself if they are still polluting.)

Something that often gets glossed over when talking about the tech industry is it's impact on the environment. A large part of being socially responsible is being environmentally responsible (Venn diagram guy, chime in [here] please). The fact is, tech industry turns the landscape into a filthy pit.

In Santa Clara county alone, there are 23 EPA superfund cleanup sites -- making it one of the dirtiest counties in America, and number one in superfund in California. In South Dakota and North Dakota combined, there is one superfund site.

As ranked by the EPA, here's the high tech contribution to the superfund sites:

2. FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR CORP. (SOUTH SAN JOSE PLANT)
4. SPECTRA-PHYSICS, INC.
5. ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC.
6. NATIONAL SEMICONDUCTOR CORP
8. TELEDYNE SEMICONDUCTOR
11. TRW MICROWAVE, INC (BUILDING 82)
11. INTEL MAGNETICS
11. FAIRCHILD SEMICONDUCTOR CORP (MT VIEW)
11. ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC. (BLDG. 915)
11. INTEL CORP. (SANTA CLARA III)
12. HEWLETT-PACKARD (620-640 PAGE MILL ROAD)
12. RAYTHEON CORP
12. INTEL CORP. (MOUNTAIN VIEW PLANT

Notice how AMD and Intel appear multiple times. They make fast chips, but they make a damn mess.

So is the tech industry socially responsible? Not if you care about the environment.

The Santa Clara county data was taken from Scorecard.

Would you call a region of a wall that is a few percent less thick a "hole"?

I wouldn't even call it a wall. It's a fluid region of gas that changes depending on season and weather conditions that acts as a filter for UV-B and other radiation.

"experts" can't even explain the causes of the ice ages.

Nice straw man. What does meteorological history have to do with current climatic changes caused by emitted chemicals? Have a look at this to learn how ozone loss happens.

California wants to do just this to pretty much *anything* with a gas engine in it.

Also look at to learn that California is in the top bracket of states ranked by hazardous air pollutants.

a few percent less thick a "hole"?

A few percent less than what? Measured when? The actual value ranges from 11-30% during the year, measured by deviation from the levels during the 1960s.
Over Australia, according to the 1997 State Of the Environment report, ozone levels hit about 89%. This means "the increase in erythemal UV-B radiation (the most damaging for plants and animals) is expected to be about 13%". Don't forget that zooplankton and phytoplankton have no protection from UV-B. If they start dying, the ocean has big problems.

Australia has the highest incidence of skin cancer in the world, both malignant and non-malignant.

Don't laugh.

I'm not.

Funny thing: the guys at photo.net (check http://photo.net/wtr/ especially) seem to have come to the conclusion that the only thing worse than using Oracle behind a live web page is using anything else currently available. And they have some fairly big sites to show (like www.scorecard.org).

My experience is similar: get Oracle set up right and you can rest easy. But setting it up right is easier said than done.

Listening to it now... about 19 minutes into the show, Philip Greenspun called in. He's written a book called 'Philip and Alex's Guide to Web Publishing', available for free on the web at the previous link. This is probably the best text on creating high value community sites and web applications such as www.scorecard.org using open source software.