What Would Rachel Say?

Climate Change Grants Awarded: MassDEP has awarded $957,885 in grants to 162 communities and regional organizations to address issues of climate change, sustainability, and pollution prevention. The conditional funding will support innovative local and regional efforts to save energy, reduce waste, recycle and compost more, eliminate hazardous materials from school facilities and grounds, and reduce people's exposure to air pollution from excessive idling of bus, car and truck engines. Climate Change grants totaling $104,000 to six communities that are working to reduce greenhouse gases by using approaches such as installing green roofs, using solar power, public outreach, and retrofitting traffic signals with light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The awards went to Boston, Cohasset, Hull, Marlborough, Melrose and Reading. For a complete list of grant recipients, turn to: www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/ recawgr.htm

http://www.mass.gov/dep/ recycle/recawgr.htm

Parks and the Health of Great Cities
Pittsburgh September 21 - 23
www.urbanparks08.org

Fifth Biennial Scientific Symposium and Policy Forum
Blueprint for Children's Health and the Built Environment
Presented by the Children's Environmental Health Institute
October 30 - 31, 2008
Barr Mansion, Austin, Texas

The Fifth Biennial Scientific Symposium and Policy Forum: Blueprint for
Children's Health and the Built Environment addresses the environmental
part of the continuing nature-nurture debate over the competing roles of
genetic and environmental factors in the causation of childhood
diseases.

The primary target audience includes: physicians and other health
professionals; architects, engineers and others in the built industry;
school boards, administrators, educators; city planners and faith
communities; childcare administrators/staff and child advocates.

More information at http://www.cehi.org/PDFs/CEHI_ 2008.pdf

Registration link can be found at http://www.cehi.org/

Sponsors:
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
Southwest Center for Pediatric Environmental Health
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas
Habitat Suites
Healthy Child Healthy World
Austin Children in Nature Community
Physicians for Social Responsibility, Austin

This was an amazing end of session for the Massachusetts Legislature, with a raft of environmental bills passed in just a few days. Associated Press writer Steve LeBlanc wrote, "Tally up the crush of bills passed during the Legislature's 19-month formal session and it's hard to find a politician or interest group with bigger bragging rights than environmentalists." The environmental bills passed this session include:

    * The Global Warming Solutions Act (Chapter 298 of the Acts of 2008), which requires the state to develop programs and policies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions at least 10% below 1990 level by 2020 and 80% by 2050. The bill requires the administration to hold a hearing to determine the 2020 target, which may be as much as 25% below 1990 levels. 
    * The so-called Environmental Bond Bill (An Act Providing for the Preservation and Improvement of Land, Parks, and Clean Energy in the Commonwealth, Chapter 312 of the Acts of 2008), totaling $1.78 billion, which provides the state with $366 million to protect open space from the pressure of development over the next five years.
    * The Clean Energy Biofuels Act (Chapter 206 of the Acts of 2008), which makes Massachusetts the first state to exempt cellulosic biofuels from state gas taxes. This should help create economic incentives for companies while requiring that the fuels meet strict greenhouse gas reduction standards. 
    * The Green Jobs Act (Chapter 307 of the Acts of 2008) funds clean energy educational opportunities and a "pathways from poverty" program for new clean energy professions, allows for the creation of a Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Institute at a state college, and an Entrepreneurial Followship program to assist business developers entering the clean energy field. 
    * The Green Communities Act, (Chapter 169 of the Acts of 2008), which "remakes the electricity marketplace in Massachusetts to favor efficiency over additional power generation, saving energy and money for consumers, and to support the development and use of renewable energy by residents, businesses, and municipalities."  
    * The Oceans Act (Chapter 114 of the Acts of 2008, which requires the development of a first-in-the-nation comprehensive management plan for Massachusetts's state waters, allows for the development of wind, wave, and tidal power as part of a plan that balances new and traditional uses with preservation of natural resources. 

10 Great "Eco" Books To Get Your "Eco" Groove On!
By moderneco7

The lessons of Love Canal lost unless Superfund is fixed

BY LOIS MARIE GIBBS

Thursday, August 7th 2008

Thirty years ago Thursday, President Jimmy Carter declared Love Canal a federal disaster area. The decision came after the discovery that the Niagara Falls neighborhood was built on top of 20,000 tons of toxic waste that had been dumped by a chemical company.

The Love Canal contamination tragedy is very personal to me. In 1978 I was living there with my husband and two children when I began to wonder whether the kids' recurring illnesses were connected to the chemical waste. Research conducted by myself and several of my neighbors, coupled with our complaints, eventually led the New York State health commissioner to declare a state of emergency and close the area's 99th Street School (where my son Michael attended). That was followed by the evacuations of mothers and children under the age of 2.

Then, Carter stepped in and the federal government was ordered to provide funds to relocate more than 200 families living within the first two rings of homes encircling the Love Canal toxic waste site.

As one of those living beyond the first two rings of homes, I was told my family was not at risk. As if toxic chemicals which had leaked from their "protective" drums into my son's schoolyard could never cross the streets into our own yards.

I remember the feelings of disgust and anger and fear when I learned that this toxic reality was likely the cause of my son's illness. I remember the looks on the faces of my neighbors as I went door to door and learned that they, too, had children with rare health issues or had lost a child over something so preventable, so cruel and unthinkable.

That was in 1978, and sometimes a colleague or someone in the media will now ask me when I am going to "let Love Canal go?" After I shake my head in disbelief, I tell the person that no mother could ever let go of something that threatened her children and the children of those living around her. Worse, even today children continue to be at risk to toxic chemical threats simply by living in communities and attending schools that are located within 1 mile of a site considered toxic by the EPA.

What good mother could let that go?

All these years after the tragedy that happened at Love Canal, the creation of the Federal Superfund cleanup program is in jeopardy. Superfund - started by Carter in 1980 - makes polluting companies and industries pay to clean up their mess. A tax on toxic chemicals that are found in contaminated sites creates the trust fund, which grew to $1.6 billion at one point.

My neighbors and I were relieved that the government had finally taken responsibility for protecting people and land from toxic pollution. The source of the program's funding, "polluters pay fees" was the most important aspect of this legislation. It held the polluters accountable, and was a major victory for communities fighting toxic and chemical threats everywhere.

But in 1996, Congress chose not to renew the polluters pay principle. This means the trust fund dried up of polluters' fees in 2003.

So who foots the bill now? You guessed it. Taxpayers, not polluters. I always told my children, "you make the mess, you clean it up." The rules should not be different for companies who bring toxic or chemical threats into the communities where our children play and attend school. How can Congress side with the companies who cause toxic contamination instead of the people threatened by that very contamination?

Now, the responsibility falls entirely on the taxpayers, to the tune of $1.2 billion. Something smells funny and it's not just the toxic odors. We need to make sure Congress makes the polluters, not the taxpayers, pay for the Love Canals of today.

Let Love Canal go? Never. I continue the battle for all of our children. For me this journey started at Love Canal. And I need everyone to continue on this journey with me.

Gibbs is founder and director of the Center for Health, Environment and Justice (www.chej.org). She lives in Falls Church, Va.

From GRIST: European Union laws prohibiting the export of hazardous materials aren't keeping shipments of electronic waste out of West Africa, according to a new Greenpeace report. Traders obtain e-waste in the E.U. and ship it off "under the false label of 'second-hand goods,'" says the report, adding, "Sending old electronic equipment to developing countries is often hailed as 'bridging the digital divide.' But all too often this simply means dumping useless equipment on the poor." Soil samples taken near two e-waste scrapyards in Ghana showed dangerous levels of phthalates, chlorinated dioxins, lead, and other toxic metals; the report notes that much of the disassembling is done by children. Companies must "take responsibility for the entire lifecycle of their products," says Martin Hojsik of Greenpeace, and "not allow their products to end up poisoning the poor around the world." Greenpeace has previously reported on sketchy e-waste situations in southeast Asia and China and India .

[ email | discuss | + digg | + del.icio.us ]

sources: Agence France-Presse , Associated Press , The Telegraph , Xinhua
see also, in Grist: Best Buy tests free e-waste recycling program , U.N. launches global partnership to combat unhealthy e-waste habits

The President's Cancer Panel, a three-person Federal Advisory Committee appointed by the President, will be holding its 2008/2009 series of meetings beginning in September. The meeting series, entitled, Environmental Factors in Cancer, will focus on: industrial and manufacturing exposures; agricultural exposures; indoor/outdoor air pollution and water contamination; and nuclear fallout, electromagnetic fields, and radiation exposure. Below please find a list of the meeting dates and locations: September 16, 2008 - Industrial and Manufacturing Exposures - East Brunswick, NJ; October 21, 2008 - Agricultural Exposures - Indianapolis, IN; December 4, 2008 - Indoor/Outdoor Air Pollution and Water Contamination - Charleston, SC; January 27, 2009 - Nuclear Fallout, Electromagnetic Fields, and Radiation Exposure - Phoenix, AZ.

President's Cancer Panel Meeting Series Flyer

Review by Lloyd Alter, Toronto on 04. 3.08
        

2008-04-02  Bach has written a lot of books with titles like "Automatic Millionaire" and "Start Late Finish Rich" that appeal to many (he has sold millions of them) but I admit to never having had much interest in the genre. However, TreeHugger has always promoted living with less, using fewer resources and having a smaller footprint, and over on Planet Green we often talk of frugality as a green virtue. David Bach takes those ideas to the bank in Go Green, Live Rich.

It is a simple theory: do all the little things we prattle on about, like improving your car's fuel economy (save $884 per year); sealing the leaks in your home and save a little on energy ($129); turning back your thermostat ($85) and brownbaggging your lunch. ($1,560). Take that $3,758 and invest it. What have you got in 30 years? $ 678,146.

Suddenly the genre and going green looks very, very interesting.

Bach writes well, in a breezy style; it is an easy read. However by putting a dollar value on 50 different green steps that you can easily take, he changes the whole message about going green, from doing something good for the environment over time (a hard sell to all but the most dedicated TreeHuggers) to doing something good for yourself and your bank account. Self-interest is a great motivator, and if the result is a dramatically smaller footprint, everybody wins.

Bach notes in the introduction:

"My own personal transformation to becoming more environmentally conscious began to happen when I moved into one of the leading green apartment buildings in the country. Funny enough, I decided to move there not so much because it was a green building but because it was located right next to my son's favorite park, where we spend lots of time together.

But then something happened when I moved in and it stopped me in my tracks--my lifelong allergies began to improve along with Jack's asthma. I then began making more changes. I switched to green cleaning products, started using a green dry cleaner, and even gave up my gas guzzling SUV. I soon noticed that I wasn't spending more money to make these change--I was actually saving money."

This is the kind of message that can change the attitudes of a whole group of people who still think that being green is the preserve of liberals and hippies, and take it mainstream; I hope that David Bach sells many millions of this book. Also, a buck per copy is being donated to the Waterkeeper Alliance. Its chairman, Robert F. Kennedy Jr, reviewed the book too:

"Great news; there is no green premium! By demonstrating how going green can fit any budget, David Bach shows that good environmental and financial decisions go hand-in-hand. Bach's "Go Green, Live Rich" gives great tips, useful to everyone, about how to save money and the planet at once."

It gives a whole new meaning to the name of our sister site, Planet Green, where we will be running a series of posts with some of Bach's suggestions for monetizing the green movement. ::Go Green, Live Rich