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2009 was a sizzler at Clean Water Action in California
This was a "hot" year for water in California. In the midst of a fiscal and water drought, we fought to protect environmental programs in the state budget and advocated for sound water policy in the package of Delta water bills. We pushed for "upstream" action, like strong chemicals regulations and bans on bad chemicals, and worked on "downstream" solutions, like cleaning up the SF Bay and Delta. With the help of our fabulous California members, we pushed the envelope in so many ways. Our members responded repeatedly to our calls for action with letters and emails that helped us "rock the boat" when we needed to put pressure on a legislator or regulatory body.
We Can't Wait Any Longer on Coal Ash
We can't wait to act on coal ash! Americans deserve clean energy. We shouldn't be poisoned by dirty coal plants and coal ash, and then be asked to foot the bill. Tell the President and the EPA.
Coal ash is a concentrated toxic by-product of burning coal and is a growing problem across the nation. The EPA and the National Academy of Sciences research show that coal ash is toxic, and threatens human health.
Yet Big Coal has been fighting any change to the status quo, lobbying against these proposed regulations and asking the nation’s energy regulators to charge ratepayers for any coal ash cleanup charges.
Say no to PCBs in San Francisco Bay
PCBs in San Francisco Bay? We don't think so.
Take action now!
PCBs, which cause cancer, reproductive harm, impaired brain development in children, and other serious health problems, collect in fish living in contaminated waters and threaten the health of people and wildlife that eat the fish. The San Francisco Bay has high levels of PCBs in its water and its fish, endangering the health of Bay area residents.
The San Francisco Regional Water Board is responsible for making sure the Bay gets cleaned up. But despite these threats, the Board has adopted a weak cleanup plan that will not stop PCBs from continuing to enter the Bay and will not protect subsistence fishers or wildlife.
Just Say No To Polystyrene Food Packaging!
Say yes to safer and more sustainable packaging options
Because polystyrene (commonly known as Styrofoam™) is harmful to public health, costly to communities, and a big marine debris and litter problem, Clean Water Action is sponsoring legislation, AB 1358 (Hill, Nava, Brownley), to ban polystyrene food take-out packaging and encourage safer and more sustainable alternatives.
Rocket Fuel in California Drinking Water? Take action now!
The drinking water of between 15 and 20 million Californians is contaminated with perchlorate, a salt that is used as the primary component of solid rocket fuel.
Perchlorate poses a health threat by impacting the thyroid's ability to take up iodide and produce thyroid hormone. Even a short term reduction in thyroid hormone can irreparably impair brain development in fetuses and infants, and impact iodide deficient individuals and those already with thyroid problems.
Despite these serious health impacts, there is no federal drinking water standard for perchlorate thanks to pressure from the White House and polluters such as the Department of Defense.
Take action now: Tell Governor Schwarzenegger that we do not want rocket fuel in our drinking water and that we support lowering the perchlorate public health goal.
Chemical Policy Reform
Manufacturing products with less toxic materials and promoting the development of "green chemistry" can not only protect our communities, workers, and ecosystems, but can actually save businesses money, increase efficiency, reduce liability, and give them a competitive advantage as other parts of the world regulate the use of toxic materials.
Reduce Mercury in the Central Valley
This summer, the Central Valley Regional Water Board will decide on adopting a draft clean-up plan, known as a TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load), to address mercury pollution in the Delta. Clean Water Action supports the methylmercury focus of the clean-up plan and urges the Board to set clean-up goals that are in line with actual fishing practices in the Delta and to do away with the 8-year delay currently in the plan. Read more to find out how to help.
The Three Rs of Water Conservation: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
As California enters its third consecutive dry year, water conservation is a popular topic - television, newspapers, billboards, and radio messages are telling us to conserve water because of the drought.
Clean Water Action agrees that we should practice additional conservation during times of drought. But California's is a dry climate that is expected to become dryer still as the impacts of climate change intensify. This drought gives us an opportunity to rethink our attitudes about and our overall use of water.