Following citizen testimony including that of Clean Water Action Program Director Andria Ventura, Santa Clara County Supervisors moved toward banning single-use paper and plastic bags at a meeting on April 13. Andria's testimony is one of many actions that make up Clean Water Action, California's "Take the Trash Out" campaign to curtail the flow of trash into California's waterways.

Noting that numerous recent municipal and county ordinances as well as the Santa Clara County proposal are leading similar state legislation, Andria told KTVU television news, "What's happening at the local level will drive what's happening at the state level."

Children's Bath Products Tainted with Cancer-Causing Chemicals

Lack of Regulatory Oversight Allows Toxic Products in Marketplace

In March 2009, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics released a national report called Toxic Tub, which revealed that despite claims like "gentle" and "pure," dozens of top-selling children's bath products contain unregulated cancer-causing chemicals. The report found formaldehyde and 1,4-dioxane, both carcinogens, in several popular baby products including Johnson's Baby Shampoo, Sesame Street Bubble Bath, and Huggies Refreshing Cucumber & Green Tea baby wash.

No matter how clean a coal plant may burn in some perfect theoretical universe (“Is America Ready to Quit Coal?,” Feb. 12), we are left with the impacts of coal mining. The method of mountaintop removal scrapes off the landscape to get to the coal seam, burying watersheds under an ugly mess. Water pollution is one of the most damaging environmental impacts of relying on coal for energy.

originally published in The International Herald Tribune, January 26, 2009

WASHINGTON: For a decade, environmentalists and states have urged the federal government to limit greenhouse gases from automobile tailpipes.

On Monday, President Barack Obama took a step toward making it happen.

He ordered the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider allowing California, 16 states and the District of Columbia to control the amount of greenhouse gases — mainly carbon dioxide — in truck and car exhaust.

It was the clearest signal yet the Obama administration plans to regulate the emissions blamed for global warming.

[...]

Obama's announcement Monday was welcomed by environmentalists and Democrats who had accused the Bush administration of reversing the recommendation of its own scientists when it denied California's waiver request last year.

"When the California waiver is approved, as it is almost certain to be, states will be free to apply the letter and the spirit of the Clean Air Act in the manner in which it was intended," said John DeCock, president of Clean Water Action.

One thing the Obama family may not like about Washington, D.C., is the water, which has trace amounts of weed killer, gasoline additives, and industrial chemicals. All these pollutants are found in the Potomac River, the source of most drinking water in D.C.

But the problem extends far beyond the Potomac. Some 200 million Americans have measurable levels of agricultural or industrial chemicals in their water supplies. Water companies use advanced filters, UV light, and other treatments to kill harmful bacteria and reduce contaminants. But to truly clean up our water would require curbing runoff from agricultural waste and banning industries from pumping pollutants into rivers.