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Turning Up the Heat: Exposing the manufacturers' lackluster mercury thermostat collection program
Turning Up the Heat exposes the dismal results of the manufacturers’
voluntary mercury thermostat collection program. The Thermostat
Recycling Corporation (TRC) has collected less than 5% of the
approximately 100 tons of mercury from mercury thermostats
removed from service in the last decade. The collection program in
Rhode Island is below the national average for preventing mercury
pollution from thermostats and far behind the national leaders. The
report recommends that states adopt strong laws, with financial
incentives and performance standards for recycling mercury thermostats,
to drastically improve the TRC program and prevent mercury pollution.
Providence's Double-Diesel Victory
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.
Connecticut Update: BPA Wins, Solar Power A Draw
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.
Massachusetts Health Officials Issue Bisphenol-A (BPA) Warning
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.
Clean Water Currents|online, Volume 37, No. 2, Summer 2009
In this issue of Clean Water Currents|Online:
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.
New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009
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.
Clean Water Action Prevents Mercury Pollution and Promotes Energy Efficiency
New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009
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.
Everyone in New England is familiar with the old fashioned round thermostat used to control the temperature in our houses. Many people don't know that those thermostats contain 3 to 5 grams of mercury. Since a single gram of mercury is toxic enough to contaminate all of the fish in a 20-acre lake, that adds up to a significant source of pollution that needs to be controlled.
How Safe is Your Bath Tub?
Summer 2009, Volume 37, No. 2
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. The report lists 38 products that were shown to be contaminated with the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane or both, although neither contaminant appears on product labels.
New England Currents Summer 2009
New England Clean Water Currents, Summer 2009
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Other Publications
Everglades for All
In March 2010, Clean Water Fund released Everglades for All.
Over 1,500 Florida residents participated in our survey which was intended to get a pulse on how the public and diverse constituency groups feel about ongoing outreach and historic Everglades restoration efforts.
This survey revealed new opportunities for relationship building and will hopefully increase public input on key decisions in Everglades restoration.
Over 1,500 Florida residents participated in our survey which was intended to get a pulse on how the public and diverse constituency groups feel about ongoing outreach and historic Everglades restoration efforts.
Environmental Groups Ask That Climate Bill Include Energy Efficiency
October 30, 2009
The Honorable Barbara Boxer, Chair
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
410 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
RE: Require Efficiency Investment of at least 1/3 of Allowance Value Given to Electric Utilities
Dear Chairwoman Boxer:
Safer Technology: The Only Solution When Security Fails
The potential for fatalities and economic disruption from an attack on one of these plants is staggering. A 2001 U.S. Army Surgeon General study estimated that in densely populated areas 900,000 to 2.4 million people could be killed or injured in a terrorist attack on a U.S. chemical plant in a densely populated area.
The Coming Crisis: Water Availability And Municipal Conservation Efforts In Central Texas
Executive Summary
Get the complete report (pdf, 9 MB)
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Population growth, drought, and climate change are straining the water supplies of Texas communities. Our state’s population is projected to double by 2060. Much of the state is in the throes of a prolonged drought. Climate experts are predicting that the U.S. Southwest will grow signifi cantly drier and hotter in the coming years. The combined challenges of climate change, drought and population growth make it clear that many Texas communities will be increasingly burdened with the responsibility of parceling out a diminishing supply of water to an increasing number of customers.
Nowhere in Texas are these issues more acute than in Central Texas - which is projected to grow at a faster rate than most of the state and is currently in the midst of extreme drought. This study analyzes the challenges posed by population growth, drought and climate change for water availability, as well as the responses to date of Central Texas communities in the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (Williamson, Travis and Hays Counties). Our analysis concludes that, while almost all communities within this area are taking additional steps to conserve water, few are embracing the full range of options readily available.