The most and least stressed out counties

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100503/ap_on_bi_ge/us_stress_map_list
20 most stressed, least stressed counties
ere are the 20 most economically stressed counties with populations of at least 25,000 and their March 2010 Stress scores, according to The Associated Press Economic Stress Index:
1. Imperial County, Calif., 31.27
2. Merced County, Calif., 28.29
3. Lyon County, Nev., 27.96
4. San Benito County, Calif., 27.26
5. Sutter County, Calif., 26.41
6. Yuba County, Calif., 25.8
7. Stanislaus County, Calif., 25.46
8. Iosco County, Mich., 24.89
9. San Joaquin County, Calif., 24.78
10. Nye County, Nevada., 24.19
11. Lapeer County, Mich., 24.03
12. Cheboygan County, Mich., 23.89
13. Luna County, N.M., 23.82
14. Lake County, Calif., 23.78
15. Kern County, Calif., 23.62
16. Tulare County, Calif., 23.17
17. Madera County, Calif., 23.04
18. Fresno County, Calif., 22.72
19. Clark County, Nevada, 22.65
20. Boone County, Ill., 22.59
A list of the 20 least economically stressed counties with populations of at least 25,000 and their March 2010 Stress scores, according to The Associated Press Economic Stress Index:
1. Ford County, Kan., 4.07
2. Ellis County, Kan., 4.17
3. Brown County, S.D., 4.6
4. Brookings County, S.D., 4.66
5. Finney County, Kan., 4.89
6. Riley County, Kan., 5.08
7. Buffalo County, Neb., 5.19
8. Ward County, N.D., 5.22
9. Grand Forks County, N.D., 5.30
10. Lafourche Parish, La., 5.31
11. Burleigh County, N.D., 5.36
12. Platte County, Neb., 5.49
13. Johnson County, Iowa, 5.5
14. Arlington County, Va., 5.54
15. Albany County, Wyo., 5.59
16. Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, 5.67
17. Custer County, Okla., 5.7
18. Lincoln County, S.D., 5.72
19. Madison County, Neb., 5.74
20. Bryan County, Okla., 5.75

Mexico, Germany urge action on climate change

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i9TuMrvrknh-ZXwqmZ2N-48kff3wD9FF48100
Mexico, Germany urges action on climate change
By VERENA SCHMITT-ROSCHMANN (AP) – 9 hours ago
KOENIGSWINTER, Germany — With the fight against global warming in serious trouble, Germany and Mexico are calling on world leaders to get international negotiations back on track and reach concrete results by the end of the year.
"We need to show the world how serious the threat is," Mexican President Felipe Calderon said as he opened an international climate change conference in Germany on Sunday.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also spoke at the opening of the conference co-hosted by both countries and aimed at laying the groundwork for the next U.N. conference on climate change, asked nations around the world for more ambition in their efforts to cut greenhouse gases.
While scientists believe global temperatures must not rise by more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) compared to pre-industrial times, the world is now headed for a 3 to 4 degree increase, Merkel said.
"We have to realize that we have quite a long way to go to reach the 2-degree-goal," Merkel said. "Therefore we have to ascertain how we can reach our goals nonetheless."
Mexico will host the next U.N. conference on climate change in Cancun in December, the first such high-level summit after the troubled U.N. conference in Copenhagen five months ago.
Germany has long presented itself as a driving force in the international efforts to curb global warming and came up with the idea of a "mid-term" meeting.
Both countries invited ministers and representatives from around 45 countries for informal talks on the Petersberg up above Koenigswinter.
The three-day conference called the Petersberg Dialogue hopes to make some progress on details, but most of all build trust between poor and rich nations, Calderon said.
He said the conference could produce a "clear message, this will be the signal whether it will be possible to reach a uniform agreement."
Nations around the world agreed in 2007 to negotiate a new international treaty to fight global warming which scientists say has already started to cause some alarming changes such as droughts, flooding or heavier storms.
A treaty was originally hoped for in Copenhagen, but that meeting produced less than expected.
President Barack Obama and a few dozen other major players drafted the so-called Copenhagen Accord, which includes the 2-degree-goal and an immediate $30 billion three-year aid package for poorer nations.
However, the accord failed to gain full support at the summit, as some smaller countries felt left out in the process and were unhappy with the results of closed-door negotiations.
German Environment Minister Norbert Roettgen said the Petersberg meeting is designed to work intensely on some sticking points and to build trust among those who eventually have to work with each other on the U.N. level.
To have something to show for even while the negotiating is going on, nations should agree on concrete projects to curb greenhouse gas emissions or to adapt to climate change, he said.
Calderon and Merkel said one of the areas that could see some progress in Cancun was the fight against deforestation.
Mexico's president stressed that saving forests could help fight poverty at the same time as it would give residents an income.
Since Copenhagen, momentum in the drive to control global warming has slowed in some countries. The U.S. has not tackled its domestic energy bill; and Australia — one of the world's biggest per capita polluters — put off for as long as two years legislation setting up carbon trading.
Roettgen has said his country and others have not given up on striking a deal at the U.N. climate summit in Cancun Nov. 29-Dec. 10.

EWG: Dirty Dozen

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1948061
Produce may retain pesticides after washingMay 3, 2010 - 4:24am
WASHINGTON - Some nasty chemicals may be lurking on the surface of your fruits and vegetables, even after you have finished cleaning them.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture says despite giving produce a thorough washing, chemical residue from pesticides can remain on the surface of your food. Eating the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables a day could result in taking in an average of 10 different pesticides.
The Environmental Working Group has a list of the "Dirty Dozen," which contains 12 different fruits and vegetables that are the most contaminated with chemicals.
The group's rankings are based on an analysis of 96,000 tests for pesticides on foods done by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration between 2000 and 2008.
The dirtiest fruits are peaches and nectarines. More than 96 percent of peaches tested positive for pesticides, and more than 95 percent of nectarines tested positive.
The dirtiest vegetable was celery. The group says 95 percent of celery samples tested positive for pesticides.
Asparagus, sweet corn and avocados were the cleanest pieces of produce on the list. There were no detectable pesticides on 90 percent of their samples.
The group recommends spending extra on organic produce if you want to reduce the chance of ingesting any sort of residue.
WTOP's Amy Held contributed to this report.