Soiled earth: About 70 percent of all polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) ever made remain in the environment. In many cases, the now banned industrial toxins contaminate some of the poorest areas of the country. In an ongoing series on environmental justice, an investigation explores the link between a Monsanto plant and diabetes rates in a largely African-American Alabama town. Environmental Health News
So they're not all bad: The list of Wall Street behemoths pledging large investments toward environmental issues is growing. Bank of America will spend $50 billion over 10 years on renewable energy projects, loans for electric vehicles, energy-efficiency initiatives, and other endeavors. BofA now joins Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, and CitiGroup in the tens-of-billions-for-the-environment club. A cynic might say these are just big PR moves, but we would never suggest such a thing. Nasdaq
To the periodic table!: The ongoing quest to replicate a plant's ability to generate energy from sunlight has yet another angle for scientists to pursue. The element ruthenium (atomic number 44, if you're curious) may be useful as a catalyst for multiple steps in artificial photosynthesis. This could dramatically simplify the process, which generally requires many reactions to be handled separately with different catalysts. So what's the big deal? Eventually, this could allow carbon dioxide from, say, a coal plant to be turned into a usable fuel when combined with sunlight. Scientific American
Unclean diesel: The World Health Organization declared yesterday that fumes from diesel fuel cause lung cancer and are actually more carcinogenic than second-hand smoke. This isn't a huge issue in the U.S. and other wealthy nations, where regulations on clean diesel likely lessen the impact. In much of the world, however, vehicles run on dirty fuels that have been long suspected and are now officially known to cause cancer. New York Times
Mayors against mercury: More than 90 city mayors sent a letter to the EPA in support of the agency's recent mercury regulations. Civic leaders from places like Pembroke Pines, Florida, joined the likes of NYC's Michael Bloomberg to stress the harm that mercury pollution can do and the importance of regulation. Grist
Blazing Saddles: As massive wildfires rage in Colorado and New Mexico, new research suggests such fires will become more frequent thanks to climate change. The western United States specifically will see dramatically more fires by 2030. Meanwhile, wildfires will increase in other parts of North America and Europe by 2100. Reuters
Heat or Thunder?: The NBA finals started last night, and for the first time in sports history (probably), we have an all-weather final! The Thunder took game one, but with both temperatures and extreme weather events on the rise, who wins this meteorlogical match is anyone's guess. Climate Progress
Tips: @OnEarthMag (tag it #greenreads)
Image: John McColgan
