While it doesn't mention bicycling specifically, this bill is anti-everything that is presently safe and enjoyable in the out-of-doors. See second article in case you missed it the first time. Mike Neuman
------------------------------------------------------------------------- ------ Tell Your Senators to Nix the Anti-Enviro Energy Bill Here are three good reasons environmentalists should be worried about the energy bill currently in joint conference committee at the U.S. House and Senate. First, it includes virtually no conservation measures -- nothing to improve the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks, nothing to wean the country off of its unhealthy and unsafe dependence on fossil fuels. Second, it includes plenty of measures that will decimate the environment -- opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and coastal areas to oil and gas drilling, providing billions of dollars in subsidies to established, lucrative extractive industries and energy companies that don't need the boost, weakening policies to hold polluters accountable for their actions. Third, it'll cost you, Mr. or Ms. Taxpayer, a bundle over the next 10 years, adding to the national deficit some $19 billion worth of unsustainable measures. Join a League of Conservation Voters' campaign and tell your senators just what you think of the energy bill. do good: Stop the energy bill from becoming law <http://www.gristmagazine.com/forward.pl?forward_id=1612> *** More fossil fuel burning leads to poorer and warmer air = more stroke: ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Strokes Go Up as Air Quality Drops ------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW YORK - People are more likely to be hospitalized for strokes on days when air pollution is bad, new research shows. Strokes occur when blood is unable to reach areas of the brain usually because of a blocked or damaged blood vessel. Depending on the affected area, patients may have difficulty moving or speaking. In the most severe cases, death can occur. "This study provides new evidence that higher levels of ambient pollutants increase the risk of hospital admissions for stroke, especially on warm days," senior study author Dr. Chun-Yuh Yang, from Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan, said in a statement. The new findings, which are published in the American Heart Association's journal Stroke, are based on a study of stroke and air pollution data recorded in Kaohsiung between 1997 and 2000. During that period, 23,179 hospitalizations for stroke occurred. On warmer days (at least 20 degrees Celsius), stroke admission rates increased as air levels of particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and other pollutants rose. In contrast, on cooler days, only carbon monoxide levels were tied to such rates. "Particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide seem to be the most important pollutants," Yang notes. For each incremental rise in air levels of particulate matter and nitroxide dioxide, the risk of stroke admission rose by around 50 percent. Moreover, after accounting for these pollutants, the other pollutants had minimal effect on admission rates. This type of study can only show an association, it cannot prove that polluted air causes stroke, the authors note. However, these findings "support the possibility" that there are disease processes in the blood vessels supplying the brain that are triggered by air pollution, they add. Story Date: 13/10/2003 � Reuters News Service ________________________________________________________________ The best thing to hit the internet in years - Juno SpeedBand! Surf the web up to FIVE TIMES FASTER! Only $14.95/ month - visit www.juno.com to sign up today! _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
