Author Archives: Norm Benson

What happens when we can find traces of everything everywhere?

It is easy to get worked up about toxic substances (especially, it seems, synthetic ones) being in our bodies, yet as Brian Dunning at Skeptoid notes, it is natural to have toxic substances there. He points out that plutonium is “one of the most dangerous substances known.”  But because we live on a planet withContinue reading “What happens when we can find traces of everything everywhere?”

Taking the Romance out of Environmentalism

My latest Green Chain column for the Record-Bee. Just after 7 p.m. on Sept 5, 2001, Mark Lynas, a writer and a member of the Green Party in Britain stepped into the Borders Bookshop in Oxford and “pied” former Greenpeace member Bjorn Lomborg with a sponge cake topped with whipped cream. Lomborg was at theContinue reading “Taking the Romance out of Environmentalism”

Weekend Postcard: The Napa Valley Palisades

The light struck Mount St. Helena the other day as I drove north on California state route 29. The light and shadow played on the rock palisades at the north end of Napa Valley. The moments of beauty, where the light and shadow take your breath away last less than a minute it seems. YouContinue reading “Weekend Postcard: The Napa Valley Palisades”

It’s Not Easy Being Green: The Top Five Green Stories for 2012

This has been submitted to the Lake County Record-Bee  It’s Not Easy Being Green: The Top Five Green Stories for 2012 Tis the season for looking back on the previous year; here are my picks for 2012’s top environmental stories plus a bonus story: 1. California’s Cap and Trade Program Begins. As U.S. CO2 emissionsContinue reading “It’s Not Easy Being Green: The Top Five Green Stories for 2012”

The True Cost of Lumber Substitutes

Lumber and building material can be replaced with look-alikes made from non-renewable materials but it may not be wise. One example, a U.S. National Science Foundation panel analyzed the amount of energy necessary to extract, transport, and convert various raw materials into finished products found that substituting other materials for wood products comes at aContinue reading “The True Cost of Lumber Substitutes”

Prop 37 – It’s déjà vu all over again

In 1986 Californians wanted labels warning them of the toxics polluting their environment. Now with Proposition 37 Californians want labels to warn them of the “pollution” of their foods by biotechnology. Proposition 37, if passed by the voters, will 1) require that most GE (genetically engineered) foods sold in California be labeled as such, 2)Continue reading “Prop 37 – It’s déjà vu all over again”

What the Frack? U.S. CO2 Output the Lowest in 20 years.

“The best is the enemy of good.” – Voltaire Good news travels slowly, if at all. Given headlines of the century you might think that good news does not exist. A newspaper will not stay in business without readers—and they need drama to get readers—so even good news often gets described as bad news. AtContinue reading “What the Frack? U.S. CO2 Output the Lowest in 20 years.”

Charbroiling puts more particulate into our air than diesel trucks

According to a media release, researchers at the University of California, Riverside have found that commercial charbroilers — the same ones that grill hamburgers from your favorite burger joint — emit more particulate matter into the air we breathe than large diesel engines. “Emissions from commercial charbroilers are a very significant uncontrolled source of particulateContinue reading “Charbroiling puts more particulate into our air than diesel trucks”