New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009

Connecticut

With a coalition of 45 groups, Clean Water Action is supporting legislation to reduce chemicals of concern: HB 5499 will phase out bisphenol-A from food and beverage containers and children's products, HB 5477 will phase out PBDEs (brominated flame retardants) for which safer alternatives are readily available, HB 6111 will create a framework for prioritizing hazardous substances for phase-out when safer alternatives are available, and an additional bill will require green cleaning in all primary and secondary schools. Get more information about the Coaliation for a Safe & Healthy Connecticut.

Rhode Island

Clean Water Action supports the Water Conservation and Competitiveness Act to promote water conservation and efficiency and invest in an efficient and reliable system of supply and distribution.

The Rhode Island Energy Independence and Climate Solutions Act will reduce global warming pollution in Rhode Island 20% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. These goals are what scientists say we need to achieve to avert the worst impacts.

Providence County ranks among the worst 6% of all counties in the United States for health impacts from diesel pollution. Clean Water Action supports legislation to strengthen the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act to require the use of emission control technology in state vehicles and major construction projects (the second largest source of diesel emissions in the state).

In 2005, RI banned the sale of thermostats that contain mercury. However, remaining thermostats in RI homes contain an estimated 3,651 pounds of the toxin. The Mercury Thermostat Pollution Prevention Act will require thermostat manufacturers to pay a bounty to ensure the safe collection and recycling of mercury-containing thermostats.

Massachusetts

Everyday we are exposed to toxic chemicals in our homes, workplaces and schools. The Safer Alternatives Bill will create a program to replace these toxic chemicals with safer alternatives wherever possible. The bill got a strong start to the 2009-10 legislative session with 125 out of 200 legislators signing on as co-sponsors.

Annually, diesel pollution in MA is responsible for more than 450 premature deaths, 9,900 asthma attacks, and 60,000 days of work lost. The Diesel Emissions Reduction Act of 2009 will require many vehicles such as waste haulers, buses, and state contracted maintenance or construction vehicles to be retrofitted with diesel "scrubbers" that filter out up to 90% of the dangerous soot and particulate matter from their tailpipes.

The volume of electronic waste in MA is an estimated 300,000 tons per year, costing MA cities and towns $6-21 million annually in recycling expenses. These numbers are expected to increase with the shift to all-digital TV broadcasting. Clean Water Action is working to pass the E-waste Producer Responsibility Bill to require manufacturers to set up and fund collection programs for recycling of electronic waste products.

To learn more about any of these bills and to find out how you can help, please contact your local Clean Water Action office: CT - (860) 232-6232; MA - (617) 338-8131; or RI - (401) 331-6972.

In this issue of New England Currents|Online:

More Shocking News on BPA
Last year it was lead, this year Bisphenol A (BPA) is the toxic chemical making news headlines and worrying parents. BPA is the building block of polycarbonate plastic and has been found to leach from many baby bottles and other products. BPA has been linked to obesity, early onset puberty, low sperm count, hyperactivity, depression and other health effects. Recently, two new studies have been released showing some more shocking exposure pathways and effects of BPA.

2009 New England Legislative Updates
Updates on legislation in the Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island state legislatures.

Mobilizing For Action in New Hampshire
In one of the most exciting election seasons in recent history, Clean Water Action's membership grew dramatically in New Hampshire as part of our drive to elect strong environmental leaders in the Granite State. To keep this great momentum going forward, we've launched the Civic Engagement Project with a goal to educate, engage and mobilize our 15,000 members in New Hampshire on key federal and state issues.

Clean Water Action Prevents Mercury Pollution and Promotes Energy Efficiency
Clean Water Action's Zero Mercury Campaign has launched campaigns in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to require manufacturers to take responsibility for the collection and recycling of thermostats and light bulbs that contain mercury.

Massachusetts' Green Revolution
Worried about the cost of heating your home? You're not alone. After the major spike in the price of oil to almost $150 per barrel last year, the Patrick administration in Massachusetts formed a Winter Heating Task Force to address the potential heating oil crisis facing families across the commonwealth. Clean Water Action testified at the Task Force hearing to stress the need for energy efficiency measures as a critical element to reducing energy use and costs to families.

Go Solar Connecticut
Connecticut homes, municipalities and businesses are being hurt by rising and unpredictable energy prices. As power prices rise, municipal budgets are further stretched, small businesses scramble to keep their lights on, and families struggle to pay their utility bills. An investment in rooftop solar is an investment in a fuel-free power source which produces power at a stable cost and creates jobs for a Connecticut-based solar industry.

For California Woman, Protecting A River Can Cost You A Job
Heather Wylie traded her job for a river. And, given the choice, she'd do it again.

During the summer of 2008, Wylie joined a handful of protestors for a canoe and kayak trip down the LA River, earning the wrath of her employers and the attention of a nation. Why? At the time, Wylie was a biologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers. The agency had just declared the LA River as not navigable--a designation that put the watershed at risk and would have set a.dangerous precedent. Wylie and her compatriots were making their voyage to prove the Army Corps wrong. If their fleet could make the journey, they reasoned, then the LA River must be in-fact navigable, a critical first step in retaining Clean Water Act safeguards for the LA River system.

Restoring the Clean Water Act Must Top Congress' Agenda
Restoring the ability of the Clean Water Act to protect water resources must top Congress' water agenda. Supreme Court and agency decisions put at risk Clean Water Act protections for headwater, intermittent and ephemeral streams that supply drinking water systems that serve more than 110 million Americans. In total, 59 percent of the nation's waterways and millions of acres of wetlands are currently at risk.

What You Won't See In Those 'Clean Coal' Ads: Dirty Air, A Wall of Sludge, Poisoned Rivers
Surely you've seen the ads. They are scattered around the internet and splashed across our newspapers and magazines. Their commercials interrupt our favorite television shows and invade our local radio station's airspace. Yes, the ads are everywhere. But that doesn't make them true.

No PR campaign, no matter how well executed, can make coal clean. It's simply not possible.

Advocates for "clean" coal argue that technology exists-almost-that will allow coal-fired power plants to capture their carbon emissions and store the climate-changing gas deep under ground. Technically, this is true. Realistically, this would be extremely expensive, and wouldn't even begin to address most of the impacts felt by water. From mines to power plants, the process of wresting energy from coal is dirty and unhealthy for our waters, our communities and ourselves.

How Safe is Your Bath Tub?
Children's bubble baths should be clean, safe and fun. But No More Toxic Tub, a report published in March 2009 by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in partnership with Clean Water Action and other organizations, found contaminants and other hazardous ingredients in numerous popular shampoos, soaps and body care products marketed to babies and children.

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