New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

Providence may be the second largest city in New England, but it can trade asthma and pollution stories with the best of the major cities. Rhode Island has the 5th highest child asthma rate in the country, and metropolitan Providence is ranked in the worst 6% of all U.S. counties for cancer risks posed by diesel pollution. Diesel is a menacing public health threat and a potential lynchpin in the fight against global warming. Black carbon soot is now considered the second largest source of global warming pollution after carbon dioxide. It is 2,000 more potent as a global warming agent than an equal volume of CO2.

Cue Providence: this summer will surely be remembered, not least by Clean Water Action members, for precedent-setting local government action and a highly practical approach to diesel pollution reduction measures in the capitol city.

In this issue of California Currents|online:

Keeping PCBs Out of the Bay

At its October hearing the State Water Board will consider approving a San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board plan to address polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Bay. These chemicals, which were banned in the 1970s, are linked to cancer, developmental impairment, and other serious health impacts. They accumulate in the fat of living organisms, including fish and the people who eat them.

Prop 65 Listing of Two Plastic Additives Under Attack

The chemical industry, represented by the American Chemistry Council, spends millions of dollars each year in California protecting the industry's profits and blocking efforts to protect the environment and the public from harmful chemicals. The most recent battle has been over adding the plastic additives bisphenol A (BPA) and styrene to California's Proposition 65 list.

New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

Clean Water Calls for BPA-Free Children's Products

If you were at the beach or on vacation mid-summer, you may have missed this announcement but... after months of determined prodding from Clean Water Action and the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) issued a consumer warning on bisphenol-A (BPA) in August. Why is this important? BPA is a toxic chemical that leaches from polycarbonate plastics and the linings of food and beverage cans such as baby bottles, sippy cups, infant formula, and canned sodas and soups. It mimics the hormone estrogen and disrupts the body's endocrine system, leading to potential health damage including breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, and early onset of puberty, among others. And BPA has been found in the bodies of 93% of Americans tested.

The DPH warning states that children under the age of two, pregnant women, and chemotherapy patients should, where possible, avoid products that contain BPA.

New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

BPA Banned In Connecticut

State Legislators, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, and other supporters rally outside the Legislative Office Building in support of the Bisphenol-A legislation.

Thanks to the commitment of our members, Connecticut Clean Water Action is celebrating a banner year marked by recent legislative victories that will reduce toxins in consumer products.

In this issue of Colorado Currents|online:

Protecting Water Quality, Protecting Rivers

Clean Water Action is helping to lead the fight to protect water quality in the Cache la Poudre River and Colorado River basins. Multiple dam and reservoir projects are planned that will severely impact water quality and river health in both basins.

Colorado Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

Clean Water Action is helping to lead the fight to protect water quality in the Cache la Poudre River and Colorado River basins. Multiple dam and reservoir projects are planned that will severely impact water quality and river health in both basins.

California Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

By Andria Ventura

PCBs in San Francisco Bay? We don't think so.
Take action now!

At its October hearing the State Water Board will consider approving a San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board plan to address polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Bay. These chemicals, which were banned in the 1970s, are linked to cancer, developmental impairment, and other serious health impacts.  They accumulate in the fat of living organisms, including fish and the people who eat them.

Clean Water Action opposes the Regional Board plan because of its weak clean up goals and implementation requirements. More specific and proactive steps must be included to keep PCBs from washing into the Bay from contaminated land sites. Big companies, like General Electric, are trying to evade their responsibility for cleaning up contaminated sites.

Colorado Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

Clean Water Action has been knocking and rocking the Front Range of Colorado to help pass the Clean Water Restoration Act!

California Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

By Yi Wang

The chemical industry, represented by the American Chemistry Council, spends millions of dollars each year in California protecting the industry's profits and blocking efforts to protect the environment and the public from harmful chemicals. The most recent battle has been over adding the plastic additives bisphenol A (BPA) and styrene to California's Proposition 65 list.  

Colorado Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update