It’s like the Twilight Zone. Climate change skeptics around the country are swinging wide with one hand while barely holding on to sanity with the other. Slate weighed in with a bizarre column about being guilt tripped into going green from a hotel linen-reuseable program. The Heartland Institute gathered in New York for the International Conference On Climate Change to practically discuss the benefits of denial. The most famous skeptic of all, James Inhofe, had his top aide step down to become executive director of the “Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow" (CFACT), a “clearinghouse and one-stop shopping” for disinformation. And Bjorn Lomborg, another notorious skeptic, confronted The Goracle in an attempt to start a debate, polite or not polite as he put it. Gore promptly shut him down, saying we’re at the tipping point. “There’s going to be enough of a consensus to move forward.” Here are a few less combative, more reality based stories from the weekend:

Science wins – Endangered Species Act provision restored. Last Tuesday, President Obama issued a presidential memorandum to restore rules requiring U.S Agencies to consult with either the Fish and Wildlife Service or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for an independent review before moving ahead with projects that could affect plants and animals.  The memorandum reversed a Bush administration decision that allowed agencies to decide themselves whether their actions would threaten a species listed under the Endangered Species Act (doesn’t even sound realistic anymore does it). Read more about this landmark reversal from The Washington Post HERE.

Hey, the man invented the internet, what’s the big deal with letting him have his own web address ending. Al Gore and his Alliance for Climate Protection have joined with Dot Eco LLC to lobby the creation of a .eco web address to promote environmental causes. The creation of .eco needs to be approved by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – ICANN ( ICANN not believe this really exists) – and if it is, will be used by individuals, businesses, and corporations to show support for a, “global ecological movement to promote nonpartisan change”. Read more about it in the Seattle P-I HERE.

Mt. St. Helens – a national park or a national monument? In late February, an advisory committee drafted recommendations that the 108,000-acre Mt. St. Helens monument area pursue conversion to a national park. Late last week, an opposing advisory committee drafted a report recommending that the area remain under management of the U.S Forest Service and not be designated as a national park - the center of opposing views being which designation would secure the most funding and most tourists. As it is, the area around Mt. St. Helens is under management of the Forest Service, as it has been for a century. National Park distinction would mean that funding wouldn’t be guaranteed, especially given the current times, though it would attract more visitors, more interest, and additionally more development. Read more from the Oregon Public Broadcasting HERE.

When the recession saves the environment. “The economic crisis," says Marina Rikhvanova, the head of the environmental group Baikal Wave, worked "like magic." That was from an interesting article in Newsweek about the closing of the dirtiest factories due to recession, in places without pollution standards.

A Hail Mary that worked. Sometimes the man on the right looks out of compared to all the new faces in the Administration. He’s Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, a controversial pick amongst enviros who saw him as a token to keep Obama’s own detractors happy. Well, a lot of fears were answered when Salazar upheld Bush’s decision to keep the gray wolf off the endangered species list in Idaho and Montana. It’s pretty disappointing considering the Obama environmental reversals of late. More.

Washington looks to ban BPA from baby bottles and other products. On Thursday, the House voted 76-21 to ban bisphenol A (otherwise known as the dreaded BPA!) It was quite the controversy last year when something revealed to reduce waste was called out by the Food and Drug Administration, along with the National Toxicology Program, for posing limited risks. That said, some want it banned in more items. How is it that "the science is good enough to say ban it in your REI bottle, but don't ban it in your Pepsi can?" asked Rep. Doug Ericksen, R-Bellingham, said in the P-I. Full story here.
A post from the old site on BPA (originally published June 24th, 2008) after the jump.

Plasticphobia has officially become the new "bird flu scare." For about a year, it has been no big surprise to see nightly newscasts lead off with yet another toy ban from China. How parents confidently buy plastic toys anymore, for fear that the paint contains harmful lead, is a mystery. And then, just as the hysteria was starting to die down, an email started circulating in early May and it awoke the beast like a 5.0 aftershock of a massive quake. "NOT OUR NALGENE!, You'll have to pry this thing out of our cold, dead hands!" This is how it started. Two recent, well-publicized reports raised health concerns about a chemical compound found in hard plastic recreational and baby bottles. First, the U.S.'s National Toxicology Program reported that there was, "some concern" exposure to the compound bisphenol A, or BPA could cause health risks to fetuses, infants and young children…and the exposure would likely come from bottle use. The reports also stated "negligible concern" for adults drinking from recreational bottles like Nalgene. Within days, Canada proposed banning baby bottles containing BPA and Nalgene and other companies announced, separately, they would phase out bottles made with BPA and subsequently introduce BPA-free alternatives. Suddenly, everyone hit the panic button and started looking at their trusty old reusable water bottle like it contained sharp-broken glass edges and was filled with curdled milk. They turned it over nervous of what number would be inside the recycling symbol, many not even previously knowing that there was a numbered system on plastic. Then, the feeling like staring at a jury duty summons, the dreadful "7", branded like the scarlet letter. But what does it all mean? Is it too late to cure our BPA-ridden bodies? Should we continue sipping away or should we buy into the "kingdom of fear" and join the duct-tape-ready people? The simple answer is yes, but as we say about science, the verdict is still out. It didn't just start with the report from the U.S.'s National Toxicology Program. For about a decade, scientists warned the government to re-open the case on safe BPA exposure standards, to no avail. Then, and this is no shocker, the government hired a firm to look into the matter resulting in the firm ignoring and neglecting all the anti-BPA scientists. And this is the kicker: It was discovered the firm had links to the plastic industry. The government was "forced" to come clean and that is where the National Toxicology Program's report came from. The truth is, scientists are still grappling with just how toxic BPA is, but a good rule of thumb would be to do your best to reduce your exposure as much as possible. Our mentors at Grist specifically the wise Umbra, had this bit of advice: Avoid using plastic bottles, plastic food containers, and canned food. Find your own way to mitigate the loss of convenience this causes you. Glass, stainless steel, frozen foods, and fresh foods are all useful resources for a plastics- and BPA-free diet. BPA is not in every plastic, but each plastic has its own problems - at least avoid vinyl, and any "Lexan" or No. 7 plastic that does not explicitly lack BPA. If you must use plastic, choose No. 1 PETE, No. 2 HDPE, No. 4 LDPE, or No. 5 PP, and eschew the rest. Does this mean DTE is Nalgene free? Not exactly, however, our plan of getting a batch of Nalgene bottles with our logo on it to give away at events will probably go by the way side. But we are thrill seekers, "living on the edge" type of guys. Plus, who heats up their Nalgene to 300 degrees anyways…

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