I nab wines that have geologic-sounding names, and so it was with Château Silex Éloge, silex being the French word for flint or chert. This time I got to use my new copy of James Wilson's monumental Terroir: The Role of Geology, Climate, and Culture in the Making of French Wines for work instead of pleasure. This food-friendly Rhône blend is not heavy with mineral flavor elements, and Wilson helped me understand why. Learn more and see more geo-wines in the Geologic Wine Labels gallery.

Château Silex Éloge — Geology Guide photo

Time for the next installment documenting the peculiar exercise of declaring state rocks and state stones. At the moment, 25 states have succeeded in this, naming 17 different rock types (loosely defined). Vermont named three, not wishing to slight the state's prodigious quarries of granite, marble and slate. Several others have elevated fossils to this lofty status. But take a look at the gallery yourself, and make note of the handy list of state rocks/stones by state for that next bar bet.

Granite, state stone/rock of MA, NH, NC, SC, VT and WI — Geology guide photo

America never reacts, it seems, without overreacting. When China's lax industrial system allowed hazardous goods to be exported, and when long-approved chemicals were found to have unforeseen health effects, Congress responded with the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA), a law mandating that every supplier of products for children under 12 test them for lead and phthalate content. Mini Me Geology, a charming geologist-owned supplier of educational mineral and rock kits, is an example of the people that CPSIA worries. Owner Tracy Barnhart posted on her Mini Me Geology Blog that Mini Me's My Rockin’ Collection Minerals kit, the simplest imaginable product, could cost thousands of dollars to have tested by a certified lab. (That sounds more like the Certified Lab Prosperity Act.)

The law takes effect February 10, and while there's some hysteria out there many small business owners are deeply worried. Consumer Reports posted a calm summary Monday, urging the Consumer Product Safety Commission to issue clearer rules on complying with CPSIA. Meanwhile, the CPSC FAQ says that minerals are exempt from the law "if the functional purpose of the particular educational item requires inclusion of the hazardous substance." I guess that still outlaws galena until kids hit their teens.

Update: Thanks to my commenters for prompting me to check a little further. In fact, there's only a tiny bit of hysteria and a huge upswell of righteous opposition.

Update again: Other About.com guides are following developments more closely than I have:

• Will Your Dolls be Considered Banned Hazardous Substances on February 10th?—Doll Collecting Guide Denise Van Patten
• New Federal Law May Impact Thrift Shops and Yard Sales—Flea Markets Guide Jace Shoemaker-Galloway
• How CPSIA May Affect Natural and Handmade Baby Products—Baby Products Guide Heather Corley
• CPSIA Update—Frugal Living Guide Erin Huffstettler

Check their blogs and forums, too.

Galena, lead sulfide — Geology Guide photo

You remember conflict diamonds. Maybe you even recall conflict coltan. Now a recent Associated Press article looked at the abuse of mercury in third-world mining, and I found it sobering reading. I have the geologist's usual mixture of awe, respect, and interest when it comes to mercury minerals and the mercury geochemical cycle. But millions of impoverished, freelance miners in Indonesia, China, Brazil and over 50 other countries have none of that knowledge, only a need as close as hunger to find a few dollars in gold today, right now. They stir the mercury with bare hands, breathe its deadly vapor and roast it to free the gold it dissolves, wasting three grams of mercury for every gram of gold recovered. It enters the biosphere and grows even more deadly there. Legitimate trade in the metal is massively diverted into clandestine, unregulated commerce.

Meanwhile, the Global Mercury Project shows no new bulletins since 2006. The Zero Mercury Global Campaign, in a slightly more hopeful sign, displays a 2006 statement by Senator Barack Obama noting his introduction of the Mercury Market Minimization Act—bottled up in committee the same day he introduced it. It's slightly hopeful because President-to-be Obama appears to have his heart in the right place on the mercury issue.

Almadén Mine visitors, Spain — Pablo Higueres photo