map: Wikipedia The Canadian tar sands industry-government group Regional Aquatics Monitoring Program doesn't much like a recent report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showing that tar sands projects are responsible for elevated levels of water toxicity downstream from projects. RAMP's Fred Kuzmic maintains that any to...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Small debris-free plateau glacier with glacier lakes at Gangrinchemzoe Pass at 5,200 m, south of the main Himalayan divide, Bhutan. Photo via USGS In case you were convinced otherwise by the quasi-scandal of 'Himalayagate' earlier in the year: The US Geological Survey has released a new report on the state of glacier retreat in the Himalaya and it makes perfectly clear the situation, "Many of Asia's glaciers are retreating as a result of climate change. This retreat impacts water supplies to millions of people, increases the likelihood of outburst floods that threaten life and proper...Read the full story on TreeHugger

Photos: Courtesy of Arqom. Argentine design firm Arqom (whose furniture with reclaimed and local wood was previously featured at TreeHugger) has come up with a new, neat product. The Gran Chaco articulated table gathers and combines discs of wood from different sizes to create surfaces that meet your current needs. More pics inside....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Image: EPA Making Guzzlers Stand Out Even More One way to nudge people into making better decisions is to make it easier to compare different products and services. There are still many people out there who have no idea if 16 MPG is a good or bad, but if they saw a big red "D" on a sticker, they might be tempted to find a vehicle with a better grade. That's the goal behind new fuel economy labels proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT). Read on for more details....Read the full story on TreeHugger

Aerial photo of one of the sites discovered, in Uncasville, Connecticut. A new report by the Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice, and the Sierra Club has identified an additional 39 sites in 21 states where toxic coal ash is contaminating drinking and surface water with arsenic and heavy metals. These new sites added to those already identified by...Read the full story on TreeHugger