So you jumped on the bandwagon for that Iphone thingy, hoping that it would be a greener apple product. Well, green techno-dudes, think again and again.

The Center for Environmental Health upped the stakes on Monday and said it will actually be initiating legal action against the Cupertino company.

According to spokesperson Charles Margulis, the levels of phthalates (a group of chemical compounds that are mainly used as "plasticizers," i.e., substances that increase flexibility) in the iPhone are in violation of California law, specifically Proposition 65.

Also known as "Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986," the act says that businesses can't expose consumers to toxic chemicals without warning them of that exposure, explains Caroline Cox, another CEH spokesperson. The state prepares a list of those toxic chemicals that apply spefically to Proposition 65, Cox says, and while it's constantly updated, one of the things it does specify is what's known as a safe harbor level.

"If you fall above that level, you're in violation," Cox says. "Basically, what we're saying in our notice of violation [to Apple] is that [the phone] exposes a user to a level above that."

The CEH says that, as it does in all legal procedures involving Proposition 65, it has issued Apple a 60 day notice of violation. "Our goal is not just to warn but reduce hazardous chemicals," Cox explains. "In that sense, we always try to negotiate a settlement with companies and we would hope to do that in this case."

With Steve Job's much ballyhooed 'greener apple' campaign, promising the greening of apple products, it seems that Jobs hung up the call on this one. Here is what was found:

An independent scientific laboratory tested 18 internal and external components of the iPhone and confirmed the presence of brominated compounds in half the samples, including in the phone's antenna, in which they made up 10 percent of the total weight of the flexible circuit board. A mixture of toxic phthalates was found to make up 1.5 percent of the plastic (PVC) coating of the headphone cables.

"Steve Jobs has missed the call on making the iPhone his first step towards greening Apple's products," said Zeina Alhajj, Greenpeace International toxics campaigner. "It seems that Apple is far from leading the way for a green electronics industry as competitors, like Nokia, already sell mobile phones free of PVC".

Dr. David Santillo, Senior Scientist at the Greenpeace Research Laboratories, commented, "Two of the phthalate plasticisers found at high levels in the headphone cable are classified in Europe as 'toxic to reproduction, category 2' because of their long-recognised ability to interfere with sexual development in mammals. While they are not prohibited in mobile phones, these phthalates are banned from use in all toys or childcare articles sold in Europe. Apple should eliminate the use of these chemicals from its products range."

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OK peeps, not exactly surfing. But, its on the beach.

Notice how Jeannie (Barbara Eden) bucks the early 1960's trend and seems quite the liberated woman - even one who was cooped up in a bottle for quite some time. Also, Tony (Larry Hagman) seems to be quite the progressive male.

Glad you found each other.

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Not so fast!

As attention turns more and more toward using corn and other products to produce ethanol for fuel, experts warn that increased production of these crops could pose a threat to the nation's water supplies.

Both water quality and the availability of water could be threatened by sharply increasing crops such as corn, said Jerald L. Schnoor, professor of environmental engineering and co-director of the Center for Global and Regional Environmental Research at the University of Iowa.

Schnoor is chairman of a National Research Council panel that studied the potential impact of increased use of biofuels on water supplies. The committee report was released Wednesday.

A stated goal is to increase biofuel production about six times, to 35 billion gallons by 2017, Schnoor said.

"That would mean a lot more fertilizers and pesticides" running into rivers and flowing into the oceans, he said in a telephone interview.

Water available depends on where the crops are grown, he added. If it is an area needing irrigation, it takes 2,000 gallons of water for every bushel of corn: "That's a high amount of water."

And that's in addition to the secondary issue of how much water is needed by the factories that produce the ethanol, he said.

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Fasten your seatbelts - music is cool too.

Enjoy. 

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Rejection can be a good thing.

Juneau's voters delivered a resounding "no" to fluoridating the city's water supplies on Tuesday, putting an end, for now, to one of the most hotly contested and expensive ballot initiatives in the city's history.

Pro-fluoride folks should not feel too bad - at least the pro-fluoride numbers are higher than Bush approval ratings - 37%.

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And, we ain't talking prohibition.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine on Monday said he has asked the federal government to declare the state a drought disaster area and open up potential financial relief for farmers, a move that follows similar requests by more than 70 Virginia counties and three other state governments.

Such a declaration from the U.S. Department of Agriculture would make farmers across the commonwealth eligible for low-interest loans and other aid from Congress if they have suffered substantial enough losses. Delaware, Maryland and Tennessee have already asked for the drought designations.

“This is an extraordinary year for Virginia,” Kaine said in a statement Monday. “We have never sought a statewide drought disaster designation before. This year’s drought is so pervasive, however, that we decided to act on behalf of the entire state.”

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Given their tremendous cultural influence, both in the US and Japan, as well as their ranking as 6th biggest album-selling pop act of the 1960s, Ventures fans and supporters have been campaigning for the past several years to have The Ventures inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio. On September 27, 2007, it was announced that The Ventures were one of the nine nominees for the 2008 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.

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Welcome to Shijiazhuang, China.

Above ground, this city in the North China Plain is having a party. Economic growth topped 11 percent last year. Population is rising. A new upscale housing development is advertising waterfront property on lakes filled with pumped groundwater.

Hundreds of feet below ground, the primary water source for this provincial capital of more than two million people is steadily running dry. The underground water table is sinking about four feet a year. Municipal wells have already drained two-thirds of the local groundwater.

The entire ecosystem of the North China Plain is having a tough time of it.

A century or so ago, the North China Plain was a healthy ecosystem, scientists say. Farmers digging wells could strike water within eight feet. Streams and creeks meandered through the region. Swamps, natural springs and wetlands were common.

Today, the region, comparable in size to New Mexico, is parched. Roughly five-sixths of the wetlands have dried up, according to one study. Scientists say that most natural streams or creeks have disappeared. Several rivers that once were navigable are now mostly dust and brush. The largest natural freshwater lake in northern China, Lake Baiyangdian, is steadily contracting and besieged with pollution.

Looks like the Chinese are growing on thirst. 

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Ooh and aaah all you want, but our when 'Arnold' and 'Babe' live on a factory farm - our water pays a price. 

Giant livestock farms, which can house hundreds of thousands of pigs, chickens, or cows, produce vast amounts of waste -- often generating the waste equivalent of a small city. While a problem of this nature -- and scale -- sounds almost comical, pollution from livestock farms seriously threatens humans, fish and ecosystems.

That includes our water. And the National Resource Defense Council compiled some factory farming water pollution facts.  

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Lets all take the advise from the activist monsters of Sesame Street - Love the ocean.

OK, you want the muppet lyrics:

Every time I see the ocean I get choked up with emotion, it's true.
When I'm riding on my board catching waves into the shore with you.
I got a monster surfer dream, got to keep the water clean and blue,
So come on all around the world, let's do what surfing monsters do.

Come on and love, love, love, love the ocean.
Show respect for the sea.
Be a friend to the water 'cause
It's a friend to you and me.
Help to cure it, keep it pure from sea to sea to shining sea.

When I see somebody litter, it sure puts me in a bitter mood.
I say, "Hey do what you ought to, get that trash out of the water, dude"
The birds and animals and fish have a monster surfer wish for real.
They wish that people round the world would feel how surfing monsters feel.

Come on and love, love, love, love the ocean.
Show respect for the sea.
Be a friend to the water 'cause
It's a friend to you and me.
Help to cure it, keep it pure from sea to sea to shining sea.

Yeah! Love, love, love, love the ocean.
Show respect for the sea.
Be a friend to the water 'cause
It's a friend to you and me.
Help to cure it, keep it pure from sea to sea to shining sea.
From sea to sea to shining sea.
Yeah!

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