As to global annihilation, I’m stumped. Most of us wouldn’t recognise a strangelet if it casually devoured us in the street
… Hadron colliders and the risk society Jim Thomas | 20th June 2008 … Who decides what level of technological risk is acceptable when total annihilation may … interests of CERN physicists to downplay the risk; the rest of us have no say. In April, …
Green soap-maker Ecover is the first company to openly admit that that it's using ingredients derived from 'synthetically modified organisms' - the next wave of GMOs - writes Jim Thomas. So why are they risking their ‘natural' brand for this experimental biotechnology?
… of GMOs - writes Jim Thomas. So why are they risking their ‘natural' brand for this … Commercial SynBio introduces untold risks The ethics of 'playing god' with the … people in the Philippines alone. Ecover risking reputation to sell SynBio to ethical …
Ben Whitford asks whether concerns over potential earth tremors, escaping gas and logistical nightmares will be enough to halt industry enthusiasm for carbon-capture and storage technology.......
… Greenpeace highlighted the technology’s risks by pointing to a 1986 incident at Lake … rather than a flood, posing little or no risk to public safety. What’s more, Herzog … to leak back to atmosphere,” he says. “It’s a risky, costly strategy that may be …
Somebody somewhere has to have a cunning plan to fix our environmental problems and save the world – right? Jim Thomas sorts through the big tech ideas you’ll be reading about this year
… presented as the excuse for gambling on high-risk technologies. That theme is likely to … mainstream climate policy discussions. High-risk projects are now gaining a shocking … consumer groups to get some oversight of nano-risks. In May, the issue will go to the UN’s …
America's coal-fired power plants produce 140 million tons of ash a year, reports Ben Whitford, most of it dumped in open storage ponds that contaminate drinking water with arsenic and heavy metals. And now Presidential candidate Jeb Bush is promising to scrap 'new and costly' (actually feeble) EPA regulations before they have even been implemented.
… and other illnesses. According to an EPA risk assessment, people who live within a mile … an unlined coal-ash facility have a 1 in 50 risk of cancer due to arsenic exposure alone, … of coal ash isn't debatable." Increased risks Radiation is also a potential concern: …
The curse of Uranium has fallen once again on the Black Hills of South Dakota, ancestral home to the Lakota Indians - now fighting a massive mining project that threatens land, rivers and groundwater. But this time, writes Ben Whitford, the Lakota are not alone ...
… open-cast mines without being notified of the risks involved, and received lower pay for … understood rock formations brings inevitable risks, Jarding says, especially since the site … be seriously impacted by any leaks. That risk outweighs any economic boost the mine …
Thanks to the Web and social media, environmentalism has become a worldwide movement. Ben Whitford reports on the need now to take bigger risks and have even bigger confrontations
… reports on the need now to take bigger risks and have even bigger confrontations In … even the Arab Spring. “We have to take bigger risks and have bigger confrontations,” he …
Ben Whitford reveals why numerous birds fall dead and injured from the skies over urban areas each year, and asks what can be done to prevent this ongoing avian tragedy.
… to prevent this ongoing avian tragedy. On a brisk May morning in 2001, countless dying … affected. According to Loss’s data, at-risk species including hummingbirds, … ultimately won, the lawsuit highlighted the risks being run by building operators who …
BP won't stop at dangerous deep water drilling: the company is bent on still more dangerous projects, including genetic modification and hacking the planet's atmosphere...
… stretching technological boundaries into risky areas is how BP navigates in an era of … devise a research agenda that will ‘diminish risk and uncertainty’. Of course, what constitutes an acceptable risk when referring to the Earth’s complex, …
Following The Ecologist's revelation about Ecover's use of synthetic biology to make laundry detergent, the company has put its trials on hold, writes Jim Thomas. But to regain public trust, the company must re-engage honestly with its critics, and its customers.
… begins with a clear assessment of the risks involved. As yet, no ecological risk assessment protocols for synthetically … pointed out the potential "catastrophic risks" on an international level that …
The US is busy negotiating two sprawling new trade deals, with the European Union and 11 Pacific Rim nations, and progressives are up in arms. Ben Whitford asks: Just how bad are the deals?
… down environmental regulations rather than risk costly legal battles. In Europe, in …
Climate change due to human interference with fragile ecosystems? No problem - we can just dump 20 tonnes of iron sulphate into the ocean
… has to be broader than the specific risks of this one technique. We need to decide … to conduct realworld tests of equally risky proposals. They will use an upcoming …
Scientists are on the brink of creating the world’s first artificial life form – a living organism never before found in nature. They promise solutions to everything from malaria to climate change. Salvation? Or a step too far?
… the first time: ‘Growing Artemisia plants is risky and will not be profitable for long … underground. The more likely scenario is that risks to society will come from unforeseen and … new and potentially catastrophic societal risks. In keeping with the Precautionary …
A movement is rising up on campuses across the US as campaigners, backed by a growing student body, say NO! to university investment in dirty energy. But will the campaign hit home? Ben Whitford reports ...
… change and making investors more aware of risks associated with the sector. That …
Few groups have done more to further the US conservative agenda - and harm progressive causes - than the American Legislative Exchange Council, or ALEC. But as Ben Whitford reports, civil society is fighting back.
… companies remain aware of the PR damage they risk if they associate themselves with the …
It's the fossil fuel industry's latest stroke of genius - a coal substitute that's cheaper, dirtier and more toxic than coal itself, writes Ben Whitford. The waste product of refining heavy oil from Canada's tar sands, petcoke is stored in open mountains around Chicago's 'Slag Valley', sending plumes of sticky black dust over poor neighborhoods every time the wind blows.
… to formally investigate the health risks and environmental damage associated with …