Take Action: Tell the EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection that Florida's waters should be protected!

photo by Justin Henry

On January 15, 2010 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released new pollution limits that may finally make it possible to protect Florida's waters. Unfortunately, special interest industry insider's who don't want to pay for the privilege of polluting our water are gearing up in opposition!

We need you to be on the record that Florida needs the highest possible standards to protect all of our waters. Send your comments to the EPA and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection now.

Low and unenforceable water quality standards in Florida have resulted in runoff triggering harmful algae blooms which poison water supplies, kill fish and choke marine life. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus have led to significant water quality problems and declines in wildlife habitat in both our inland and coastal waters.

Minnesotan’s Stories on our Environment and Health

How do new threats to our water and health impact Minnesotan’s lives and communities? In Ripple Effects, Minnesotans share their personal stories on how global problems such as climate change, toxic chemicals and polluted waters are being experienced locally.

Below is a sample of the stories covered in this project. To find additional stories about a particular issue, click on the issue links below.

Vicki Hendricksen: Distrust of Drinking Water

Many Minnesotans pour themselves a glass of water from their kitchen faucet without a second thought. However, more and more people are becoming concerned about the safety of their drinking water.

“I don’t trust our water,” states Vicki Hendricksen, a Woodbury mom of three, “we get all our water for drinking and cooking from our fridge because it’s filtered.” When Vicki moved to Woodbury two years ago to be closer to work, she learned the city’s water was contaminated with PFCs— chemicals used in non-stick pans, stain resistant clothing, and thousands of other products. Even though the level of PFCs in Woodbury’s water is considered to be at safe levels according to the state, Vicki has her doubts. “I wonder if the level they set is really acceptable—will this change years later when they learn more?”

Read the full story and see the video here

Read more stories about

Toxic Chemicals

Global Climate Change

Water Pollution

Pesticide Contamination

To share your story, email us at mncwa@cleanwater.org.

Do you believe in magic? Big Oil and their supporters hope so, as they advocate their latest domestic energy source: oil shale.

Oil shale is neither oil nor shale. This finely-grained sedimentary rock - more properly known as organic marlstone - is infused with kerogen, not oil. Kerogen is a dense blend of ancient algae and pond scum, and is an essential ingredient in oil and natural gas. But transforming kerogen to oil requires millennia, coupled with intense heat and crushing geologic pressure. Otherwise the kerogen remains a relatively energy-poor waxy deposit in sedimentary rocks, such as oil shale.

In 1983, 1987 and 2000, Maryland Governors and their counterparts in Virginia, the District of Columbia and other jurisdictions in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed signed formal agreements that set timelines for cleaning up the Bay.  The most recent agreement called for deadlines that were to be met by 2010.  That deadline will not be met.

The drinking water of between 15 and 20 million Californians is contaminated with perchlorate, a salt that is used as the primary component of solid rocket fuel.

Perchlorate poses a health threat by impacting the thyroid's ability to take up iodide and produce thyroid hormone. Even a short term reduction in thyroid hormone can irreparably impair brain development in fetuses and infants, and impact iodide deficient individuals and those already with thyroid problems.

Despite these serious health impacts, there is no federal drinking water standard for perchlorate thanks to pressure from the White House and polluters such as the Department of Defense.

Take action now: Tell Governor Schwarzenegger that we do not want rocket fuel in our drinking water and that we support lowering the perchlorate public health goal.

Since 1998, Clean Water Action has won a number of legislative and regulatory victories.

2008

Lead Levels in Children's Products Restricted
Clean Water Action and allies in the Coalition for a Safe & Healthy Connecticut turned back intense opposition from big chemical companies, the toy industry, and dozens of in-state retailers and recently won new legislation to phase out toxic lead and asbestos in children's products.

With 1,350 miles of coastline, the 700 mile wide Lake Okeechobee and 10 million acres of wetlands including the Everglades, Florida is known for its abundance of water. Yet, even with an average of 54 inches of rainfall a year, the sunshine state is still suffering from a severe drought that is only expected to worsen in 2008.

Add to this the 175 gallons of water the average Floridian uses each day -- about 65 more gallons per day than the average American.

It's time we all do our part to protect our most important natural resource. Here's how you and your family can make a real difference in just a few simple steps.

Check out your savings with our water calculator

As far as great rivers go, Colorado's Cache la Poudre is a crystalline gem, found embedded among the majestic Colorado Rockies. Its long borders ebb and flow along a wide and diverse path, cutting through the Continental Divide and feeding into both the Rocky Mountain National Park and Roosevelt National Forest.