Climate scientists warned this week about another of the effects of greenhouse gas emission. The Guardian has details. "Human pollution is turning the seas into acid so quickly that the coming decades will recreate conditions not seen on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs," scientists from Bristol University announced yesterday at a conference in Italy.  Climate scientists are meeting this week to update to the 2007 report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and to prepare for the "international negotiations in Copenhagen in December, where officials will try to hammer out a successor to the Kyoto protocol".

Helene York, director of Bon Appétit Management Company Foundation and architect of the Low Carbon Diet program, took it upon herself four years ago to detail the food system's connection to climate change. She persuaded Bon Appetit Management Company's Foundation to develop a program to calculate the various strands of the food system's contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.  It was not an easy task.  Government statistics don't help much.  The EPA divides their data into three arbitrary categories - transportation, manufacturing, and agriculture - all of which are impacted by the food system.  Then, when the U.S. pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, our obligation to measure emissions ended, making the task even harder.

The Puget Sound Partnership and KCTS 9 are presenting a preview of Frontline's new documentary by Hedrick Smith entitled, "FRONTLINE: Poisoned Waters".  It is being held Tuesday, April 14th at 7:00PM at Town Hall.  Enrique Cerna, will moderate a live interview with Smith.  Gov. Chris Gregoire and Bill Ruckelshaus will also be in attendance.  The event is free but will-call tickets are required.  They can be obtained through Brown Paper Tickets or by calling 800.838.3006.

FRONTLINE: Poisoned Water” airs in its entirety nationwide on KCTS 9 at 9 p.m. April 21.

Boy, we make it hard on the fish!  Researchers from NOAA and WSU conducted a study that was published Monday in the journal, Environmental Health Perspectives.  The authors concluded that some pesticides work together in a deadly synergy, becoming more harmful than the sum of the parts would indicate.  The finding is very important since currently, the EPA tests pesticides one at a time to see how much is needed to kill fish.  

President Obama's selection of Kathleen Merrigan to be Deputy Secretary of Agriculture has drawn rave reviews from both sustainable agriculture and food-safety advocates.  Jordan Lite, writing at Scientific American's 60-Second Blog, focuses on Merrigan's background.  She is currently director of the agriculture, food and environment program at Tufts University.

There were some significant changes to the energy efficiency tax credits in the stimulus bill, signed by President Obama on Feb. 17th.  This one is less of a surprise than a couple of the earlier gems we found buried in the package to move the country toward energy independence and lower cumulative greenhouse gas emissions. 

The highlights of the energy efficient home improvement provisions, according to the governments EnergyStar site, are: