News Briefs Breast cancer was linked with the use of lawn services, dry cleaning, and home pesticides in a study by the Silent Spring Institute, a nonprofit partnership of scientists and citizens. The study focused on Newton, Mass., a Boston suburb where women in more affluent neighborhoods had significantiy higher breast cancer rates than the rest of die state. Questioning revealed diat these women were routinely exposed to higher levels of some chemicals, including pesticides than women in Newton's lower-income areas N'lany pesticides contain endocrine-disrupting compounds which researchers are beginning to links to breast cancer risk For more information about the studv t?o to wwwsilentsprinp ore The Gulf of Mexico's oxygenstarved dead zone could be shrunk by restoring 5 million acres of wetlands and 19 million acres of streamside buffers in the Mississippi River watershed, concludes a report published by three federal agencies. The Integrated Assessment of Hypoxia in the Northern Gulf of Mexico fingers nonpoint source loading of nitrogen which has tripled from 0.33 to 0.95 million metric tons per year since 1955 as me cause of the Gulf's extremely low oxygen levels. Restoring wetlands and buffers could cut nitrogen loads from agricultural and urban runoff by 40% at ?\ cost of *K4pound of nitrogen the report concludes Copies are available on the Web at wwweDa eov/msbasin/ia Water pricing based on full-cost recovery is still rare among member countries of die Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), although water subsidies have generally decreased over the past decade, an OECD report finds. The study focuses on die agricultural, household, and industrial sectors, examining how a shift away from fixed charges toward more volumetric charging has influenced water consumption patterns. For a copy of The Price of Water: Trends in OECD Countries call (202) 785-6323
Wind energy could generate 10% of the world's electricity by 2020, cutting greenhouse gas emissions by more than 10 billion metric tons, according to a new report by BTM Consult, an international wind energy consulting firm. Wind Force 10: A Blueprint to Achieve 10% of the World's Electricity From Wind Power by 2020 argues that it would be technically feasible to install 1.2 million MW of wind energy capacity in the next 20 years, noting that Denmark already generates 10% of its power using wind. The report projects that wind energy's cost will decline from today's 4 7 cents/kWh to 2 5 cents/ kWh by 2020 For a copv call the American Wind Energy Association at (202) 383-2500
Increased humidity due to global warming could become a major source of discomfort and stress, according to a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) study published in October. Using global change models, the researchers found that humidity levels are likely to climb in tandem with temperature. They used the humidity projections to calculate the resulting heat index, which quantifies how factors like airborne moisture affect people's abilities to dissipate heat. In humidity-prone regions like the southeastern United States India southeast Asia and northern Australia the heat index may rise substantially thcv fojjj'jfi For a. of Changes in Heat Index Associated with CO -Induced Global Warming call NOAA's Geophvsical Fluid Dynamics Laboratorv at (609) 452-6500
Global warming might not cause the sea level to rise as much as predicted, according to a U.S. Geological Survey scientist's new study. In Clathrate Eustasy: Methane Hydrate Melting as a Mechanism for Geologically Rapid Sea-Level Fall, John Bratton proposes a link between the melting of metiiane hydrate and ocean sea-level declines. Metiiane gas exists within and beneath most of the ocean's hydrate deposits, and, as global temperatures rise he posits that the melting of these metiiane hydrates and freeing of the Scis ^/vould lower the POa
level Becausepolar ice also would be melting sea levels would still rise For a conv of the studv contact die author at jbratton@ usgs.gov. Eastern European countries may need 20 years or more to comply with all current environmental requirements of the European Union (EU), according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Environmental reforms in the ex-Soviet states are proving even more daunting because of lower levels of economic development, a slower pace of economic reform, and weaker governmental systems. For a copy of Environment in Transition to a Market Economy Progress in Central and Eastern Europe and the New Independent States call (202) 785-6323 By 2025, Africa's sub-Saharan nations and territories may only be able to feed 40% of their projected population of 1 billion, according to an analysis released in October by the United Nations and the World Bank. While farm yields have risen elsewhere in die world, the report states soil fertility is declining in the 48 sub-Saharan countries, which currently can only feed 70% of their 550 million inhabitants. Major causes of soil degradation cited include water erosion (responsible for 46% of soil losses), wind erosion (38%), improper chemical use (12%), and soil compaction from overgrazing (4%). For a copy click on www unu edu
JANUARY 1,2000 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY / NEWS " 1 7 A
