TIP TALKS
The e-Newsletter of the
Toxics Information Project (TIP)
DECEMBER 2010
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2010 HOLIDAY TIP TALKS -
Good News Edition
Date: Fri, 24 Dec 2010
Dear Friends of TIP,
To join the celebratory mood, and counterbalance
the concerns and anxieties we face during the year,
this holiday newsletter has been planned to give us
all hope and encouragement. Below are summaries
of 10 news stories in the past 6 months showing
progress in moving toward a healthier, less toxic
planet & people. ((If some website links don't work,
try copying and pasting into browser)
One more gift - we will NOT be sending you the
typical holiday fundraising letter! Yes, we
need help with our work, but I think gifts are
moved by the giver's appreciation of that, and
not from a long sales pitch! :-) For those who
would like to provide support at no cost to
themselves and no effort, see the links
at the bottom of this message re: searching
or shopping with TIP as designated charity.
Happy, Healthy Holidays to All!
Liberty Goodwin, TIP Director
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CALIFORNIA UNVEILS SIX-STEP STRATEGY
TO PROMOTE GREEN CHEMISTRY
www.environmentalhealthnews.org/ehs/news/california-unveils-six-step-strategy-aimed-at-promoting-green-chemistry
By Marla Cone, Editor in Chief, Environmental Health News,
December 16, 2008
California officials today unveiled a six-step strategy to promote
use of safer, sustainable chemicals and wean the state's industries
and consumers off toxic compounds. The recommendations
“constitute a far-reaching, market-driven strategy with an
ambitious aim—the launch of a new chemicals framework and a
quantum shift in environmental protection,” Secretary of
Environmental Protection Linda Adams wrote in the California Green
Chemistry Initiative’s final report. In September, a pair of laws
was adopted in California to implement two of the six
recommendations.
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THIS WEEK: CLEANER CLEANERS?
November 29, 2010, By Brita Belli,
www.emagazine.com/view/?5425
A new law in California aimed at cleaning up cleaning products may
help reduce air pollution nationwide. The new regulation—passed
unanimously on November 18 by the California Air Resources Board
(ARB)—will require that makers of household cleaning products,
including glass sprays, bug sprays, degreasers, furniture sprays &
metal polishes, reduce the amount of toxic solvents known as volatile
organic compounds (VOCs) in these products. Many companies will be
forced to reformulate their products to comply, & the rest of the
country will reap the benefits of greener cleaning products, since
companies are unlikely to produce separate products for sale in
California only.
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Yahoo News --- AP November 25, 2010
EUROPE BANS BABY BOTTLES WITH BISPHENOL-A
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101125/hl_afp/euhealthchemicalbisphenol
BRUSSELS (AFP) - Europe on Thursday banned baby bottles containing the
chemical Bisphenol-A as of early next year over fears it may harm the
health of children throughout the EU's half a billion population.
(Bans are also in place in Australia, Canada and a few US states).
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PITTSBURGH BANS NATURAL GAS DRILLING\
www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/pittsburg-bans-natural-gas-drilling?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+yes%2Fplanet
A historic new ordinance bans natural gas drilling while elevating
community decision making and the rights of nature over the “rights”
associated with corporate personhood.
by Mari Margil, Ben Price, posted Nov 16, 2010
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WASHINGTON STATE COMPILES LIST
OF CHEMICALS TOXIC TO CHILDREN
Wash. rules would require makers of children's products
to report use of 59 toxic chemicals.
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wirestory?id=11975387&page=1
By Phuong Le Associated Press, October 26, 2010
Johnson & Johnson, Mattel Inc. and other manufacturers of children's
products would be required to report whether toys, cosmetics, jewelry,
apparel and other items contain certain harmful chemicals, under new
rules proposed by Washington state. Officials have come up with a
list of 59 chemicals that would trigger reporting to the state.
The list includes cadmium, formaldehyde, benzene and bisphenol A.
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THIS WEEK: STATES PUSH FOR CHEMICAL REFORM
www.emagazine.com/view/?5326/
September 13, 2010, By Brita Belli
States are taking the lead when it comes to chemical reform.
On Sept. 2, 2010, a coalition of state agency environmental directors
called the Environmental Council of the States adopted a resolution
calling on the federal government to enact chemical regulation that
really regulates. In other words, they are pushing for a new federal
bill to replace the outdated Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976,
which has allowed 80,000 chemicals in widespread manufacturing and
use despite that fact that most have not been tested for basic toxicity.
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EXCLUSIVE GOLF COURSE IS ORGANIC, SO WEEDS GET IN
Natural vegetation thrives between the fairways at
the Vineyard Golf Club in Edgartown, Mass.
The New York Times August 16, 2010
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/17/sports/golf/17vineyard.html?pagewanted=1
"Opened eight years ago, the club is thought to be the only completely
organic golf course in the United States, its 18 holes groomed without
the use of a single synthetic pesticide, fertilizer, herbicide or other
artificial chemical treatment."
With golf courses increasingly being criticized for environmentally
unfriendly practices, the Vineyard Golf Club has become a petri dish
for alternative maintenance techniques: kill weeds with boiling water
and a natural foam cocktail, remove moss with dish detergent, transport
microscopic worms from Iowa to attack turf-ruining grubs; disrupt the
mating cycle of damaging oriental beetles with a strategically placed
scent & grow grass believed to be more resistant to disease.
The staff at the Vineyard Golf Club are now seen as environmental
pioneers, with many in the golf industry examining their methods.
The club's organic model could become the successful experiment
that helps push thousands of courses toward using fewer pesticides,
less water and more natural grass-growing procedures.
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HEALTH GROUP SUES FDA OVER ANTIMICROBIAL SOAP
www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE66R3Y120100728
July 28, 2010 Reuters Health, By Alexandria Sage
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - A nonprofit environmental group has sued
the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, claiming the agency failed
to regulate toxic chemicals found in "antimicrobial" soap and other
personal care products. The suit was filed in U.S. District Court in
Manhattan on Tuesday. More than 30 years ago, the agency first proposed
to regulate such products for over-the-counter use, but they remain on
the market and are unregulated, the group said.
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ONE YEAR AFTER ONTARIO BAN: OVER 80% DECLINE OF
MOST COMMON PESTICIDES IN SURFACE WATERS
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/07/ontario-cosmetic-pesticide-ban-decline-pollution.php
by Christine Lepisto, Berline, on July 7, 2010
In April 2009, it became illegal to sell or apply pesticides for
cosmetic lawncare in Ontario, Canada… A year later, does the
preliminary data on the effectiveness of Ontario's cosmetic pesticide
ban prove it is a good idea? The scope of the pesticide ban is
described on the News Ontario website: “Pesticides cannot be used
for cosmetic purposes on lawns, vegetable and ornamental gardens,
patios, driveways, cemeteries, and in parks and school yards. There are
no exceptions for pest infestations (insects, fungi or weeds) in these
areas, as lower risk pesticides, biopesticides and alternatives to
pesticides exist. More than 250 pesticide products are banned for sale
and over 95 pesticide ingredients are banned for cosmetic uses”.
168 stream water samples were taken over 2008 and 2009, representing
the water quality before and after the ban took effect. The samples
were analyzed for 105 pesticides and pesticide degradation products.
The results are dramatic: three pesticides estimated to account for
half of lawn care product applications dropped by 86% (2,4-D),
82% (dicamba),and 78% (MCPP: 2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxyacetic acid).
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CT PESTICIDE BAN ON PLAYING FIELDS AND GROUNDS
IN SCHOOLS K-8 TOOK EFFECT JULY 1.
Friday, May 7, 2010
From: "Nancy Alderman" nancy.alderman@yale.edu
Environment & Human Health, Inc. (EHHI)
Dearr All,
So many people have asked. --- so ---- the information is --- the CT
Pesticide ban on school playing fields and grounds in schools K-8 will
go into effect this July 1st. Industry tried really hard to roll the
ban back - but they were not able to do it.
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EASY WAYS TO SUPPORT OUR WORK: BENEFIT TIP WHILE SURFING OR SHOPPING THE
WEB at:
www.goodsearch.com/?charityid=818190
BENEFIT TIP WHILE SHOPPING ON THE WEB AT:
www.igive.com/welcome/warmwelcome.cfm?c=38382&m=0
www.alonovo.com/community/affiliate/98 OR
MOST OF ALL, JOIN US OR MAKE A DONATION:
www.toxicsinfo.org/subscribe.htm
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Liberty Goodwin, Director
Toxics Information Project
P.O. Box 40572,
Providence, RI 02940
Tel. 401-351-9193
Website: www.toxicsinfo.org
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