In The News / Feb 8

• Credibility key in 9/11 health trials.

  As the first cases in a massive battle over illnesses linked to 9/11 near trial, an Associated Press investigation has found that several of the initial 30 suits contain inconsistent or exaggerated claims about how the workers got sick or how much time they spent at ground zero. Associated Press

• Industrial solvent linked to increased risk of Parkinson's disease.

  Exposure to the industrial solvent trichloroethylene increases a person's risk of developing Parkinson's disease nearly sixfold, California researchers said Sunday. Los Angeles Times, California

• 3M talks had short guest list.

  Civic leaders are alarmed that the Minnesota giant met privately with EPA about Scotchgard and other chemicals as new safety rules are weighed. Minneapolis Star Tribune, Minnesota

• Pioneering e-waste bill remains stuck in legal limbo.

  The New York City government and manufacturers are locked in a contentious legal battle over whether producers should take a lion's share of responsibility for collecting discarded electronics. Gotham Gazette, New York

• Permits drag on U.S. mining projects.

  Obtaining the permits and approvals needed to build a mine in the U.S. takes an average of seven years, among the longest wait time in the world. Permit delays are partly due to public opposition because of mining's checkered history and reputation for pollution. Wall Street Journal

• Firms face new asbestos case.

  James Hardie and CSR have been accused in court of joining forces during the 1960s and '70s in a bid to dissuade regulatory authorities from restricting or controlling the use of their potentially lethal asbestos products. Melbourne Age, Australia

• Miners battle lung disease in hazardous mine.

  Black lung is China's No 1 occupational disease. Experts warn that the high number of victims reflects serious flaws in the monitoring of occupational safety across China, and have accused local labor and health authorities of failing to protect workers. China Daily

• Farmers wonder if LNG is worth its salt.

  In response to energy companies' plans to extract billions of dollars worth of gas from the area's underground coal, normally conservative farmers are shaping up for a fight with big business. Sydney Morning Herald, Australia

• Texas town deals with byproducts of gas drilling.

  Folks in Dish, Texas were giddy when drillers started offering up the fat checks. But tests have shown elevated levels of cancer-causing benzene near the tiny town, spooking residents who now fear that what once looked like found money could end up harming their health. Associated Press

• Obama-backed wind farm in Mass. meets strong resistance.

  The nearly decade-long fight over whether to construct a 130-turbine offshore wind farm near Martha's Vineyard has spurred numerous state and federal regulatory reviews. Washington Post

• Rajendra Pachauri raises more eyebrows.

  The Indian head of the UN climate change panel, already under fire over errors in a key 2007 report, is raising eyebrows again after publishing a raunchy environmental novel and accepting help in promoting it from BP and the head of India’s biggest gas producer. London Times, United Kingdom

• Water at core of climate change impacts-UN experts.

  The main impact of climate change will be on water supplies, experts said on Sunday. Desertification, flash floods, melting glaciers, heatwaves, cyclones or water-borne diseases such as cholera are among global warming impacts inextricably tied to water. Reuters

• Seaweed beds, the 'cradle of the sea,' vanishing.

  The rich seaweed beds stretching 8,000 hectares and brimming with fish in the western coast of the bay off Shizuoka Prefecture have been transformed into a barren wasteland. Pollution, climate change, and other factors are suspects, but the exact causes are unknown. Asahi Shimbun, Japan

• Global ocean protection measures have failed.

  Thousands of tons of trash are thrown into the sea each year, endangering humans and wildlife. A classified German government report indicates that efforts by the United Nations and the European Union to clean up our oceans have failed entirely. Der Spiegel

• Chicago public schools pile up lunch waste.

  Every day, kids in the Chicago Public Schools district throw out nearly a quarter of a million lunch and breakfast trays made of polystyrene foam. That's more than 1 million a week, about 5 million a month. Chicago Tribune, Illinois

• Rigging an eco-boat to cross the Pacific.

  Typhoons. Hurricanes. Cyclones. Tidal waves. Sharks. As if designing a boat to cope with all of that on the 11,000-mile voyage from San Francisco to Sydney isn’t daunting enough, this one also has to be environmentally irreproachable. New York Times