In March 2010, Clean Water Fund released Everglades for All.

Over 1,500 Florida residents participated in our survey which was intended to get a pulse on how the public and diverse constituency groups feel about ongoing outreach and historic Everglades restoration efforts.

This survey revealed new opportunities for relationship building and will hopefully increase public input on key decisions in Everglades restoration.

October 30, 2009

The Honorable Barbara Boxer, Chair
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
410 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

RE: Require Efficiency Investment of at least 1/3 of Allowance Value Given to Electric Utilities

Dear Chairwoman Boxer:

Eight years after September 11th, sobering warnings remain unheeded regarding the vulnerability of U.S. chemical plants to terrorist attacks. Journalists across the country have repeatedly made their way into more than 80 chemical plants demonstrating the ease with which fence-line security can be penetrated. As President Obama said in 2006, "these plants are stationary weapons of mass destruction spread all across the country."

The potential for fatalities and economic disruption from an attack on one of these plants is staggering. A 2001 U.S. Army Surgeon General study estimated that in densely populated areas 900,000 to 2.4 million people could be killed or injured in a terrorist attack on a U.S. chemical plant in a densely populated area.

Executive Summary

Population growth, drought, and climate change are straining the water supplies of Texas communities. Our state’s population is projected to double by 2060. Much of the state is in the throes of a prolonged drought. Climate experts are predicting that the U.S. Southwest will grow signifi cantly drier and hotter in the coming years. The combined challenges of climate change, drought and population growth make it clear that many Texas communities will be increasingly burdened with the responsibility of parceling out a diminishing supply of water to an increasing number of customers.

Nowhere in Texas are these issues more acute than in Central Texas - which is projected to grow at a faster rate than most of the state and is currently in the midst of extreme drought. This study analyzes the challenges posed by population growth, drought and climate change for water availability, as well as the responses to date of Central Texas communities in the Austin-Round Rock Metropolitan Statistical Area (Williamson, Travis and Hays Counties). Our analysis concludes that, while almost all communities within this area are taking additional steps to conserve water, few are embracing the full range of options readily available.

In this issue of New England Currents|online:

Massachusetts Health Officials Issue Bisphenol-A (BPA) Warning

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

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.