Dear EarthTalk: I hear there’s a greener form of fracking for natural gas and oil that uses carbon dioxide instead of water to access underground reserves. Is this really better for the environment? — Jason Burroughs, Erie, PA Hydraulic fracturing (known as “fracking”) is a method of causing fissures in underground shale rock formations to ⇒

EarthTalk® Dear EarthTalk: Can you discuss pollutants in car interior materials, and also pollution inside cars originating from gasoline and diesel exhausts outside the car? — Mervyn Kline, Philadelphia, PA The interior of your car may seem like a safe haven from air pollution, but it may actually be quite the opposite. Chemicals emanating from ⇒

Dear EarthTalk: What are the environmental risks associated with beach resorts?– Shine Shoukkathali, via e-mail While they may put up with a lot of stress from wind, waves and weather, beaches and the coastal environments surrounding them are surprisingly fragile. The ecosystems which make up coastal areas have evolved over eons to their current natural ⇒

Dear EarthTalk: What’s the skinny on essential oils? I love them, but a friend told me they are no good for the environment. — Mary M., via e-mail Essential oils are more popular than ever for medicinal and therapeutic purposes as well as in fragrances and flavorings for food and drinks. Typically produced by harvesting ⇒

EarthTalk® Dear EarthTalk: I saw an article on sugar’s effects on the environment. Has anyone compared different sweeteners (artificial or natural) for their environmental impacts?–Terri Oelrich, via e-mail The production of sugar has indeed taken a huge environmental toll. “Sugar has arguably had as great an impact on the environment as any other agricultural commodity,” ⇒

Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that American kids are going through puberty earlier today than in previous generations, and are there any environmental causes for this?–Paul Chase, Troy, NY Research indicates that indeed Americans girls and boys are going through puberty earlier than ever, though the reasons are unclear. Many believe our widespread exposure to ⇒

Dear EarthTalk: What is the new documentary film A Fierce Green Fire about and what does the title refer to?– Gloria Howard, Washington, DC A Fierce Green Fire is a new film documenting the rise of the modern environmental movement from the 1960s through the present day. It premiered at last year’s Sundance Film Festival and will ⇒

Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that human overpopulation isn’t such a big issue any more as numbers are expected to– Melinda Mason, Boone, IA Ever since Thomas Malthus published “An Essay on the Principle of Population” in 1798, positing incorrectly that humans’ proclivity for procreation would exhaust the global food supply within a matter of ⇒

Dear EarthTalk: I heard of a practice called cyanide fishing, which is used mostly to collect aquarium specimens, but I understand it is also used to catch fish we eat. Isn’t this very unhealthy?- Phil Seymour, Albany, NY Cyanide fishing, whereby divers crush cyanide tablets into plastic squirt bottles of sea water and puff the ⇒

Dear EarthTalk: I don’t hear much about the environmental impacts of our consumer culture any more, but it seems to me that our “buy, buy, buy” mentality is a major contributor to our overuse of energy and resources. Are any organizations addressing this issue today?-– M. Oakes, Miami, FL There is no doubt true that ⇒