Certified Platinum

The federal building here in San Antonio has been certified platinum:

On the third floor of the Hipolito F. Garcia Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, a door leads from a beige-painted hallway to a lush meadow.

Inside the building, at Houston and Alamo streets, bureaucrats, lawyers and the public shuffle between U.S. Bankruptcy Court, the post office and various federal agencies.

In the meadow, planted on the roof, butterflies and bees flutter and buzz between tufts of dark-green buffalo grass and purple heart.

The green roof is the centerpiece of a $56 million renovation of the 75-year-old building, the "greenest" owned by the U.S. General Services Administration. It is the first GSA building to earn platinum certification — the highest — in its category from the U.S. Green Building Council under its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system.

The mixture of native and adaptive grasses and sedum proved that plants can grow on a roof in the middle of San Antonio. At 13,000 square feet, it is the largest green roof in the city.

Top Ten

ABC News (Australia) lists the ten most polluted places on earth by type of toxin, as compiled by the Blacksmith Institute.

1.  Air pollution: Linfen, China
2. Industrial chemicals: Bhopal, India
3. Mercury: Central Kalimantan province, Indonesia
4. Pesticide: Kasargod, India
5. Chemical weapons manufacture waste: Dzerhinsk, Russia
6. Organic chemicals: Sumgayit, Azerbaijan
7. Lead: Tianying, China
8. Hexavalent chromium: Sukinda, India
9. Radiation: Chernobyl, Ukraine
10. Persistent organic pollutants (POPs): Arctic Canada

Oops Continued

From ABC News:
"I've known Gov. Rick Perry for a long time, and I am endorsing him because I know he is the strongest leader to run against and defeat President Obama. After three years of Obama's liberal agenda, Rick Perry is the right person to get America working again and turn our country in the right direction," Sen. Inhofe said in Tulsa, Okla., today. "We can't afford four more years of the Obama malaise. Look at what Rick Perry has done in his state. He is going to be a great president!"

Yes.  Look what Perry has done to Texas:

•  Amount of Carbon Dioxide Emissions  1st
•  Amount of Volatile Organic Compound Released into Air  1st
•  Amount of Toxic Chemicals Released into Water  1st
•  Amount of Recognized Cancer-Causing Carcinogens Released into Air   1st
•  Amount of Hazardous Waste Generated  1st
•  Amount of Toxic Chemicals Released into Air  5th
•  Amount of Recognized Cancer-Causing Carcinogens Released into Water  7th
•  Number of Hazardous Waste Sites on National Priority List  7th
•  Consumption of Energy per Capita  5th