In 2008, the Green Communities Act was passed and it set in place new energy efficiency standards that greatly expanded current programs, creating an opening for quality green jobs creation in Massachusetts. In 2009, the state’s utility companies incorporated suggestions to create good quality green jobs, provide pathways out of poverty for local residents and jumpstart global warming reductions in communities around the state. These suggestions came from the Green Justice Coalition (GJC) a group of climate activists, low-income communities and labor groups; Clean Water Action is one of these groups.

New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

Providence may be the second largest city in New England, but it can trade asthma and pollution stories with the best of the major cities. Rhode Island has the 5th highest child asthma rate in the country, and metropolitan Providence is ranked in the worst 6% of all U.S. counties for cancer risks posed by diesel pollution. Diesel is a menacing public health threat and a potential lynchpin in the fight against global warming. Black carbon soot is now considered the second largest source of global warming pollution after carbon dioxide. It is 2,000 more potent as a global warming agent than an equal volume of CO2.

Cue Providence: this summer will surely be remembered, not least by Clean Water Action members, for precedent-setting local government action and a highly practical approach to diesel pollution reduction measures in the capitol city.

New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

BPA Banned In Connecticut

State Legislators, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, and other supporters rally outside the Legislative Office Building in support of the Bisphenol-A legislation.

Thanks to the commitment of our members, Connecticut Clean Water Action is celebrating a banner year marked by recent legislative victories that will reduce toxins in consumer products.

New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

Clean Water Calls for BPA-Free Children's Products

If you were at the beach or on vacation mid-summer, you may have missed this announcement but... after months of determined prodding from Clean Water Action and the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) issued a consumer warning on bisphenol-A (BPA) in August. Why is this important? BPA is a toxic chemical that leaches from polycarbonate plastics and the linings of food and beverage cans such as baby bottles, sippy cups, infant formula, and canned sodas and soups. It mimics the hormone estrogen and disrupts the body's endocrine system, leading to potential health damage including breast cancer, obesity, diabetes, and early onset of puberty, among others. And BPA has been found in the bodies of 93% of Americans tested.

The DPH warning states that children under the age of two, pregnant women, and chemotherapy patients should, where possible, avoid products that contain BPA.

In this issue of Clean Water Currents|Online:

For California Woman, Protecting A River Can Cost You A Job
Heather Wylie traded her job for a river. And, given the choice, she'd do it again.

In this issue of New England Currents|Online:

More Shocking News on BPA
Last year it was lead, this year Bisphenol A (BPA) is the toxic chemical making news headlines and worrying parents. BPA is the building block of polycarbonate plastic and has been found to leach from many baby bottles and other products. BPA has been linked to obesity, early onset puberty, low sperm count, hyperactivity, depression and other health effects. Recently, two new studies have been released showing some more shocking exposure pathways and effects of BPA.

New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009

Worried about the cost of heating your home? You're not alone. After the major spike in the price of oil to almost $150 per barrel last year, the Patrick administration in Massachusetts formed a Winter Heating Task Force to address the potential heating oil crisis facing families across the commonwealth. Clean Water Action testified at the Task Force hearing to stress the need for energy efficiency measures as a critical element to reducing energy use and costs to families.

New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009

Clean Water Action's Zero Mercury Campaign has launched campaigns in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to require manufacturers to take responsibility for the collection and recycling of thermostats and light bulbs that contain mercury.

Everyone in New England is familiar with the old fashioned round thermostat used to control the temperature in our houses. Many people don't know that those thermostats contain 3 to 5 grams of mercury. Since a single gram of mercury is toxic enough to contaminate all of the fish in a 20-acre lake, that adds up to a significant source of pollution that needs to be controlled.

New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009

Summer 2009, Volume 37, No. 2

Children's bubble baths should be clean, safe and fun. But No More Toxic Tub, a report published in March 2009 by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in partnership with Clean Water Action and other organizations, found contaminants and other hazardous ingredients in numerous popular shampoos, soaps and body care products marketed to babies and children. The report lists 38 products that were shown to be contaminated with the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane or both, although neither contaminant appears on product labels.