Some say fluoride fights decay, others say it's a hazard in water
In a dramatic reversal of a public health initiative aimed at stopping tooth decay in 1951, Mount Clemens, MI, city commissioners voted 6-0 last month to stop fluoridation. The action, which city officials say would save more than $40,000 per year, comes as debate over fluoride’s benefits versus its possible adverse effects -- ranging from spotted teeth to suspicions that it increases the risk of bone cancer -- has gained new attention.
More Info: Detroit Free Press
Missouri cautious on smart grid
In an effort to modernize the Illinois electric grid, state legislators approved a controversial bill last month to jump-start more than $3 billion of investment by the two largest utilities. Regardless of how the drama plays out in Illinois, there’s no rush to follow suit on the other side of the Mississippi River. As with electric deregulation a decade ago, the Missouri utility industry would rather watch and wait.
More Info: St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Turned-off appliances drain electricity through vampire energy
From video game consoles to microwaves, when we turn off many of our appliances, they actually go into standby power mode. It’s what keeps the clock ticking on the coffee pot or the light blinking on the electric toothbrush. The concept is known as phantom load or a more menacing term: vampire energy. And according to the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, between 5 to 10 percent of residential electricity use goes toward powering phantom loads.
More Info: Sunflower Horizons