What Would Rachel Say?

Into the playrooms of children has come the unsettling news: those little red trains and other neat miniatures of the adult world may be coated in paint containing illegally high levels of lead, posing myriad risks to a child's neurological development. After that discovery prompted a mass recall this past summer, parents will never look at Thomas the Tank Engine the same way again. But the uproar over banned substances and rogue Chinese toy manufacturers has overshadowed an even more troubling issue: the toxins in toys that are perfectly legal. The United States remains one of the few developed countries to permit the import of plastic toys made with polyvinyl chloride additives called phthalates (pronounced tha-lates), which help make toys soft and pliable enough to be twisted or sucked yet durable enough to survive a 1-year-old's grip. A mounting body of scientific evidence suggests that phthalates impede the production of testosterone and disrupt the sexual development of infant boys.  Read the complete article...

Toxic Toys  by Mark Schapiro  The Nation   November 5, 2007
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20071105/schapiro

Intervention: Confronting the Real Risks of Genetic Engineering and Life on a Biotech Planet (Paperback)
by Denise Caruso (Author)

Green-wash  -  verb  The act of misleading consumers regarding the enviroinmetnal pratices of a company or the enviroinmental benefits of a product or service. 

Go and Greenwash No More
Green products largely guilty of greenwashing, says study

From Daily GRIST www.grist.org
 A study of 1,018 "green" products from big-box stores has found that all but one were marketed with false or misleading eco-claims. Researchers from TerraChoice Environmental Marketing called out products for committing the " Six Sins of Greenwashing": a hidden tradeoff (e.g., toxin-loaded electronics touting their energy efficiency); no certifiable verification of green claims; flat-out lying about certification; vagueness (e.g., products claiming "all natural" status, which could include hazardous substances that occur naturally); irrelevance (e.g., products claiming to be CFC-free even though CFCs have long been banned); or a lesser-of-two-evils situation (e.g. organic cigarettes). Cascade paper towels were the big -- and only -- winner, with claims of being chlorine-free, having recycled content, and having legitimate logos checking out as accurate.  sources: CanWest News Service, TerraChoice

Go to the Air Emissions Sources Web site: www.epa.gov/air/emissions
View information in Google Earth format about which facilities emit any
of six common pollutants: http://www.epa.gov/air/emissio ns/where.htm
See AQI forecasts and current conditions: www.airnow.gov
View air quality information in Google Earth format:
http://airnow.gov/index.cfm ?action=google_earth.main
EPA is also using the Google Earth platform to display Acid Rain Program
data: http://epa.gov/airmarkets /progress/interactivemapping .html

Student Conservation Association Multimedia Contest: Deadline Soon!

The Student Conservation Association (SCA) is sponsoring a multimedia contest, seeking projects that can help build the next generation of conservation leaders by engaging young people in protecting and conserving our natural world. Practical ideas with a creative twist are great! Students can make use of video cameras, computers, pen and paper, or any other media they wish to convey their ideas.

Students age 15 and up can apply. Deadline is December 1st, and students can enter submissions online.

Click Here For More Information

Wednesday, March 5, 2008
College of the Holy Cross, Hogan Campus Center, Worcester, MA

Registration Information and the Conference Brochure will be posted soon!  Please check back for more information.

For over 30 years, the MEES conference has attracted participants with its innovative presentations, networking opportunities, informative exhibits, pleasant atmosphere and excellent cuisine. The conference draws a diverse audience including classroom teachers from pre-school to college, museum and nature center staff and administrators, and community resource leaders.

This year, while we celebrate the accomplishments in environmental education over the past 30 years, we'll look to the future for solutions to today's challenges.

Join your fellow teachers both formal and informal, museum and nature center staff, and everyone who is dedicated to providing experiences that educate, excite and commit all generations to preserve the environment and to promote its responsible use.

Check out the workshops listed below, and then register online or download the full brochure and registration form (286 KB).

Schedule (view the workshop matrix)

8:15AM-9:00AM Registration, Coffee, and Exhibits
9:00AM-10:15AM Session A, Session AB, and Exhibits
10:30AM-11:45AM Session B, Session AB, and Exhibits
12:00PM-1:30PM Lunch, Annual Meeting, and Exhibits
1:45PM-3:00PM Session C, and Exhibits
3:15PM-4:30PM Session D, and Exhibits

Notes
Conference fee is $75. Register by January 21, 2008 to save $10. Full time students' fee is $45. Please register and postmark checks and paper forms by the general deadline of February 8, 2008. For scholarship information, please contact Amy Nelson at anelson@massmees.org. Exhibit tables are available; please contact Germaine Koomen at gkoomen@massmees.org.

Georgetown Village , a new master planned community 35 miles north of downtown Austin, is hoping to become the first green subdivision in Georgetown. According to the Statesman:

Green Builders Inc. is creating an 800-acre master-planned community with 2,000 houses that will be environmentally friendly and feature rain harvesting and energy-saving heating and cooling systems. Georgetown Village will offer 15 floor plans, from 1,800 square feet to 2,400 square feet. Several models are near completion. The homes, to be built in the next six to eight years, will be priced from the low $200,000s to the $500,000s.

While more efficient developments like these have advantages over non-green sprawl, it is still sprawl and it still has all the environmentally unfriendly aspects of low density development. Scrutiny of greenwashing has typically been reserved for corporations, but developers are becoming suspect as "green building" has become a de rigueur marketing buzzword for modern builders.

A critical consumer eye is necessary to separate true smart growth from builders claiming the green word. Green building is not simply about the individual structure. It must incorporate macro level issues of community sustainability. This is one place in which the Austin Green Building Program falls short, but which should be addressed by the LEED for Neighborhood Development program being developed by the US Green Building Council.

The Georgetown development appears to have good green intentions, including claims that "each home will be built with foam insulation in the walls and roof. The heating, ventilation and air conditioning as well as the water heater and plumbing are centrally located to improve efficiency and the homes also are being built with recycled lumber and local natural stones." Recycled lumber sounds nice, but we're not sure Rachel Carson would approve of strip-mined limestone, even if it is local. Phrases like "environmentally friendly" and "improved efficiency" can be misleading, so it is important for builders to be specific (how much cost reduction) and qualify the terminology (duration, types of materials, usage, etc). These specific homes are expected to have 50-60% energy savings, which is pretty hot.

Sprawl is sprawl, but green sprawl is probably better than red sprawl. It is sometimes difficult to tell whether something is really green or just marketed green, so industry standards and recognized organizations have become critical, including the U.S. Green Building Council, LEED certification and