NEWS BRIEFS Climate change will make U.S. summers more deadly in the future, according to a new study examining die relationship between climate and mortality (.Environ. Health Perspect. 1997, i05(l), 84-93). Researchers Laurence S. Kalkstein of the University of Delaware and J. Scott Greene of the University of Oklahoma predict that excess mortality for an average summer season will more than double nationwide by 2050. Climate-related excess mortality is predicted to increase in Chicago for example from the current level of 191 to 421 in 2020 and to 551 by 2050 Using climate change models they calculated the increase in the number of "oDDressive air mass days " which lead to heat-related deaths for 44 II S cities The annual U.S. environmental quality report, published by the White House Council of Environmental Quality, this year includes a special 25-year retrospective of U.S. environmental trends. The 546-page volume also covers trends in air quality, aquatic resources, ecosystems, population, energy, pollution prevention, and environmental justice. Key environmental data through 1995 are presented in 95 tables. The report Environmental Quality: The Twenty-fifth Anniversary Report of the Council on Environmental Quality is available at http7/ceq eh doe gov/reports/ reports htm (Files are in PDF format) More than half of Earth's biodiversity resides in less than 2% of the planet's land surface, says a recent Conservation International study that urges an international conservation program, prioritized and targeted to protect these areas. The study expands an earlier concept of "biodiversity hotspots" and identifies 17 regions with extreme numbers of threatened endemic species. These areas include the tropical Andes, Madaand the Philippines, among others. For more information contact Conservation International at (202) 429-5660
Recycling is not "garbage," argues a new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Responding to recent criticisms of the economic and environmental value of recycling, NRDC senior staff scientist Allen Hershkowitz defends the practice, which is popular in the United States. The 86-page report, "Too Good to Throw Away: Recycling's Proven Record," includes a preface by New York Governor George Pataki and the full text of the June 30, 1996, New York Times Magazine article "Recycling Is Garbage" by John Tierney. Copies are available from the NRDC at (202) 289-6868; http://wwwnrdc org
Traditional methods of environmental risk assessment are inadequate to deal with real-world situations of multiple contaminants, exposures, and public perceptions, according to the President's Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management. The commission proposes a new approach in the second volume of its final report, published in March, titled Risk Assessment and Risk Management in Regulatory Decision-Making. The 150-page report also recommends specific changes to risk practices across the federal government including an increase in the consideration of fixture land use in Superfund risk assessments and comprehensive watershed management Copies of the report may be requested by fax at (202) 233-9540 or accessed via http:// www rislcworld com Advocates of chlorine-free paper introduced a bill in the House of Representatives that would prohibit the discharge of organochlorine compounds and byproducts by paper mills. The "Zero Chlorine Discharge Act of 1997" (H.R. 1188), sponsored by Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), would amend the Federal Water Pollution Control
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Act to require pulp and paper manufacturers to "achieve zero discharge" within five years of enactment. A coalition of environmental groups and environmentally conscious businesses, including the Natural Resources Defense Council and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, endorsed the bill, which was introduced March 20. Old gas guzzlers generate nearly twice as much carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon tailpipe emissions as do fuel-efficient vehicles, says a new study by Resources for the Future (RFF). The results fly in the face of conventional wisdom that says all vehicles pollute at the same levels, given that they are required to meet the same grams-per-mile emissions standards when new. The report says that the more elaborate emissions control equipment on inefficient vehicles apparently is influenced by age and that lower emissions of carbon dioxide and hydrocarbons are strongly associated with better fuel economy. The report is available from RFF at (202) 328-5112 Greater use of science as the underpinning of environmental decisions and integration of environmental considerations into all policy discussions were among the endorsements in a recent National Academy of Sciences report. "Preparing for the 21st Century" contains six papers that synthesize the findings of more than 100 previous academy reports. Along with the environment the other look at science and engineering research, education health technoland social policy. The full report is accessible at http:// www2 nas edu/21st Drinking water research grants totalling $12 million will be awarded in 1997 by the American Water Works Association Research Foundation. Requests for proposals (RFPs) have been issued for 36 projects in the areas of microbes, chemicals, management, infrastructure, and resources and environment. Proposals for projects that cost more than $250,000 are due by July 15. RFPs are available at http://www.awwarf.com or by calling (303) 347-6111.
