Pollution Is a Civil Rights Issue – August 3, 2010

People whose income level limits their access to clean air and water, or puts them at greater risk of illness, death, or unemployment in the event of an environmental disaster are being denied the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness guaranteed to all Americans by the Constitution. And someone should be held accountable for it. That simple fact has been the foundation of the environmental justice movement for the last few decades. But while the movement has grown, and the swelling ranks of environmental lawyers have managed to try, and win, a… more

by: Amy Westervelt

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Toxic Baby Shampoo and Other Horrors – July 21, 2010

It's a well-documented fact by now that the soaps and shampoos we clean up with are, more often than not, filled with toxic chemicals. As are most perfumes, makeup, and even more basic items like contact solution. The Environmental Working Group has been working tirelessly over the last several years to educate the public about not only the fact that these chemicals are out there, but that they are not regulated in personal care products (thanks, FDA). The personal care industry has responded fiercely, knocking back bill after bill proposed to regulate the ingredients of such… more

by: Amy Westervelt

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Gulf? What Gulf? Obama Admin Goes for More Drilling in Alaska – July 9, 2010

The Interior Department announced today--a Friday afternoon, perfect for avoiding press--the opening up of oil and gas drilling leases for 1.8 million acres of Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve to oil and gas drilling. Energy and Environment reports that the Bureau of Land Management is selling leases for 190 tracts of land in the reserve, and bidding will close August 11th. The sale is one of dozens, mostly in Western states, that the Interior Department announced in November.

On the positive side, in addition to opening up drilling leases in the reserve, the… more

by: Amy Westervelt

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HBO Doc GasLand Brings Natural Gas Debate to the Masses – June 22, 2010

 

Natural gas. Even its name sets it up as an alternative to petroleum, despite the fact that the latter is also “natural.” For years now, everyone from oil tycoon-turned-wind magnate T. Boone Pickens to former Sierra Club executive director Carl Pope have been touting natural gas as a clean “bridge fuel” that will tide us over as we shift to renewable energy. As Earth Island Journal reporter Adam Federman illustrated in his piece "To Drill or Not to Drill" (Spring 2010), that sort of thinking only really pencils out if the extraction of the gas doesn't… more

by: Amy Westervelt

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Those World Cup Uniforms Are Cool, but Plastic Recycling Is a Waste of Time – June 16, 2010

The plastic industry folks are really good at using the media to get their message out and they seem to have turned up the volume on one particularly misleading bit of information lately, placing story after story about plastics recycling being a great way to deal with the world's plastic pollution. But despite the fact that some hack new lifecycle study says its a good idea, or that everyone is super excited about Nike's World Cup jerseys made from PET, it remains a non-solution to a… more

by: Amy Westervelt

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