Greenlist: Less lead, fewer violent crimes

>> Take out the lead to fight crime?. Economist Jessica Wolpaw Reyes "found that the rise and fall of lead-exposure rates seemed to match the arc of violent crime, but with a 20-year lag — just long enough for children exposed to the highest levels of lead in 1973 to reach their most violence-prone years in the early ’90s, when crime rates hit their peak."

>> Thus a reminder to make sure toys are unleaded. The latest: Winnie-the-Pooh Play Sets and Bendable Dinosaur Toys.

>> Heroes of the Environment: Time magazine highlights the "most innovative and influential protectors of the planet."

>> Looks like no one wants new coal power plants: ranchers, farmers, retired homeowners, ski resort operators, religious groups -- and even self-described non-environmentalists are uniting against coal plants. No new coal plants is one of Step It Up's three goals.

Photo courtesy of U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission