Powered by Max Banner Ads EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: I would like to make my holiday gifts matter this year. Where can I find ideas for green gifts? – Mary Baumgartner, via e-mail Credit: Organic Bug A wide range of green gifts can be obtained from nonprofit organizations that use the proceeds to fund important work and from green companies,... 

EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: How clear (or not) are the links between the rising incidents of cancers around the world and the prevalence of synthetic chemicals in modern society? – Alberto Buono, Lee, Massachusetts Credit: Thinkstock Most researchers now agree that environmental factors -­ including exposure to chemicals and pollution -­ play a significant... 

EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: I drink diet soda but I’m told it’s bad for me and linked to health problems. Is this true and if so can you suggest any healthier alternatives? – Mitchell James, Ronkonkoma, New York Credit: Julesreyes, courtesy Flickr Researchers have found no direct links between diet sodas and specific human health problems. Initial reports... 

EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: Some drycleaners I’ve seen offer “wet cleaning” as opposed to dry cleaning. What’s the difference? Is it better for the environment? – Elizabeth Connelly, Tampa, Florida Credit: Simon Law, Wikipedia Most of the nation's 34,000 dry cleaners still clean clothes using perchloroethylene, or “perc,” a hazardous air... 

EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: What’s the latest in regard to putting limits on greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.? Is there any hope that Obama can get something done? – Bradley Johnson, Helena, Montana Credit: Rachel Johnson/Flickr Politics still stand in the way of efforts to limit U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Two efforts, the American Clean Energy... 

EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: I want to use cleaning products that are healthier for the environment, but I worry that baking soda and the like won’t really get my tub and toilet germ-free. Should I continue using bleach products in the bathroom? – Margaret Pierce, Columbia, Montana Credit: Earth Friendly Products If you’re interested in cleaning greener,... 

EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: I understand that mountaintop removal as a way of coal mining is incredibly destructive. Didn’t a report come out recently that named major banks that were funding this activity? – Seth Jergens, New York, New York Credit: Ilovemountains.org Many major banks invest in companies that engage in the environmentally destructive... 

EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: I know that polar bears are losing ice cover due to climate change, but what are other ways that global warming affects wildlife around the globe? – Hanna Bond, Hartford, Connecticut Credit: Thinkstock Climate change is affecting many more species than polar bears. The National Audubon Society found that 60 percent of the 305... 

EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: Some friends of mine were talking about a book called “Plan B” that proposes a plan for rescuing the environment and ending poverty around the world. Is it a realistic plan or just some utopian pipe dream? – Robin Jackson, Richmond, Virgina Credit: Earth Policy Institute Lester R. Brown's "Plan B" is an integrated... 

EarthTalk® E – The Environmental Magazine Dear EarthTalk: Are as many cats and dogs being euthanized these days as back in the 1970s and 1980s when indiscriminate breeding led to explosions in pet populations? – Mary H., Knox, Tennessee Credit: Comstock Major progress has been made in reducing the overpopulation of cats and dogs that had resulted in some 12 to 20 million being euthanized...