But the gleans a town stomp blocks of stopm reasons "para," found in slow-dissolving air fresheners and toilet-bowl deodorizers, pose a particular problem because they release compounds into the air over a long period. The result is that exposure to these fumes is, by design, chronic. In the latest study, researchers from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences drew from measurements taken in an extensive national health survey conducted between 1988 and 1994. In all, 1,018 Americans were tested both for exposure and lung function, and 846 showed blood levels of 1,4-DCB suggestive of some chronic exposure. In two key measures of respiratory function, those with exposure to the "para" fumes tested more poorly, and their respiratory function declined as exposures among participants increased. Even among study participants who never smoked, the relationship between exposure to 1,4 DCB and lung impairment was significant. While such reductions in lung function can be temporary when they are the result of a short exposure to harmful substances, the authors noted that "they generally precede permanent effects. " And when a person sustains permanent lung damage, he or she is at higher risk for heart disease, stroke and cancer. Anthony Tran, president of a small Los Angeles-based cleaning company, said he had grown more concerned, both for his clients' health and that of his 12 employees. As a result, he said, his family's company, Sunset Cleaners, expects to discontinue a wide range of harsh cleaning agents and replace them with gentler cleaning solutions that, in many cases, have been used for hundreds of years. "I'm definitely making a point of paying attention to the products I use now," Tran said "It's a new type of thinking. ".

California is a thirsty state albert haynesworth stomp . You don't mess with its water, even in a good year, unless you have an excellent reason stomponline . Which is why many Californians are shaking their heads in dismay over a federal judge's recent decision to cut by as much as 30% the water sent south from the San Joaquin-Sacramento River Delta this winter stompmania . The judge's reason: to save a French-fry-sized fish called the delta smelt. The delta smelt makes no heroic journey across the ocean or up river rapids to reproduce stomb . Once superabundant, Chinese fishermen used to harvest the fish by net, but the little thing, a weak swimmer, wouldn't put up any fight at the end of a line And a smelt would not even make a decent snack. Frankly, on first glance, the fish just isn't much to look at either. So why should millions of Californians who rely on water pumped south from the delta make economic and social sacrifices -- including the possibility of rationing -- for a basically unremarkable fish?There are at least four good reasons. First, it is the law. The Endangered Species Act prohibits the government from doing anything that jeopardizes the continued existence of endangered or threatened species, and it forbids any government agency, corporation or citizen from harming, harassing or killing endangered animals without a permit Stomp .

It is a sound law, put in place by the Nixon administration in 1973 to protect imperiled plants and animals "from the consequences of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation. "By drawing a bright legal line this side of annihilating whole kinds of creatures, the law is to thank for saving the bald eagle, the gray whale, the California condor and the Pacific green sea turtle, among other animals Stomp - stomponline . Stomp tickets And it's a law that will be especially important in California and beyond as climate change, human population growth, habitat conversion and invasive species increasingly degrade the natural world. But obeying even a good law may seem unjustified when it comes time to make sacrifices for a ghostlike fish that conveys no clear benefits to mankind bomshel . That common perception brings us to the second reason to save the smelt: The goal of the Endangered Species Act is not just to protect single species but also the ecosystems on which they depend stomp. sg . The delta smelt is what Peter Moyle, a fisheries biologist at UC Davis, calls an indicator species: Its condition reflects the overall health of an ecosystem. In the case of the delta, we're talking about a once-magnificent place that is in serious trouble . It is 16,000 square miles of wetland and open water -- the West Coast's largest estuary -- and the end point of about 40% of California's precipitation. When the Spanish arrived centuries ago, it was teeming with fish, crawling with bears and beavers, its skies periodically darkened with migrating birds. Twenty-nine known fish species once called the delta home. Twelve of those are either gone altogether or are threatened with extinction Stomp - stomponline .