May 4, 2010
Find a link here for a list of facts regarding the oil spill.  Best bullet point list I have found to date.  The list provides the size and clean-up costs.  

April 9th, 2010

The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Monday that it would overhaul drinking water regulations so that officials could police dozens of contaminants simultaneously and tighten rules on the chemicals used by industries.  Lisa Jackson, the E.P.A. administrator, said it planned stricter regulation of four cancer-causing chemicals. Any new policies will most likely force water systems to use more advanced technologies costs of which that will be passed on to the consumer through rate increases.  Read the full article here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/23/business/23water.html?sudsredirect=true#

March 30, 2010

The EPA is considering listing Bisphenol-A (BPA) as a chemical of concern.  BPA is used to harden plastics and can be found in many soup cans, bottles and other food and beverage packages.   Both EPA and FDA are moving forward to fully assess the environmental and health impacts to ensure that the full range of BPA’s possible impacts is examined.   Canada is already taking measures to ban BPA use in baby bottles and cups. California's lawmakers have also passed measures to ban BPA in baby bottles and other products aimed at children. Retailers including Wal-Mart and Target have said they would limit the number of products they sell containing BPA.  Nestle and Energizer said they stopped using BPA as of January 2009 when making baby bottles and feeding cups for the U.S. market.  Read more here:

http://www.epa.gov/oppt/existingchemicals/pubs/actionplans/bpa.html

March 26, 2010

Plasma gasification harnesses the power of plasma to convert waste into an energy-rich synthesis gas that can used to produce clean energy. From reducing the need for landfills to reducing greenhouse gases, plasma gasification is the next generation of waste-to-energy technology. The end product of plasma gasification produces "Syngas".

Environmental Benefits

See an interactive presentation of Plasma Gasification plants:

http://www.afeservices.com/pg_popup1.php

Join Huston Environmental Services for Earth Hour on March 27, 2010.  Sign up here to pass the word:

Mar 15, 2010

Procter & Gamble (P&G) announced today the U.S. expansion of "Future Friendly", an environmental responsibility and Consumer Education platform it first introduced at the 2009 Clinton Global Initiative. The multi-brand initiative brings together the power of trusted brands like Tide, Pampers, PUR, Duracell and others for a simple mission: to help mainstream consumers save water, waste and energy at home. A full media platform, including an extensive social networking and consumer engagement component, will be deployed starting the week of March 29, 2010.  

"We see a growing environmental consciousness among mainstream consumers," said Maurice Coffey, Marketing Director, Future Friendly. "Through this newly expanded brand platform we will help remove the confusion and show consumers how simple choices can lead to meaningful results."

Mar 12, 2010

A coalition of communities in six Midwestern states filed a federal lawsuit Monday seeking to force Syngenta, the manufacturer of a widely-used herbicide to pay for its removal from drinking water. Citizens in all sixteen of the cities named in the lawsuit get their drinking water from sources next to or surrounded by agricultural fields where farmers use Atrazine. Some of these cities sell their water in bulk to other nearby towns.

In none of those cases were residents notified of the high levels.  The Huffington Post reported in August 2009 brochures in water bills contained misleading numbers based on the state testing. They cited that based on the quarterly tests, residents of Mt. Olive, Ill., were told that the highest level of Atrazine in their drinking water last year was 2 ppb. However, the EPA data shows a spike in June of 16.47 ppb. The same year, residents of McClure, Ohio, were told that the highest level of atrazine in their drinking water was 3.4 ppb. The EPA data shows a spike in June 2008 of more than ten times that amount -- 33.83 ppb. The Huffington Post reported in the same news release that more than 40 water systems at that time showed spikes of Atrazine over 12 parts per billion (ppb) - which if found  would have required the water system(s) to notify the public within 30 days. Below find a video of the a 2009 news report about the non-reporting of Atrazine concentrations.

News Report About Non-Reporting of Atrazine in Drinking Water

Mar 10, 2010 

The Environmental Protection Agency added the Gowanus Canal, a 1.8-mile, 100-foot wide waterway in northwest Brooklyn which empties into Upper New York Bay, to the National Priorities List (NPL) otherwise known Superfund.   The Environmental News Network reported the new designation means that the EPA will now move ahead to clean up this derelict canal and to compel PRP's (principal responsible parties) to perform the cleanup or reimburse the  EPA-led action.

The Superfund designation may be a tough and perhaps a long dragged-out process of restoring the Gowanus.  The new Superfund status bestowed upon the canal will mean a serious project will be underway to restore its waters to conditions suitable for human use. However, the EPA decision was not without controversy and contentious debate. The Bloomberg administration has fought hard to oppose the designation, arguing that legal battles could erupt with PRP's, delaying the dredging operation. Also, they are worried that prospective developers will be leery of building in an area with the stigma of being a Superfund site.

Watch a You Tube video from Friends and Residents of Greater Gowanus. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5mRDOwMyxw