|
|
|
P2 News Items
Minnesota bans mercury in cosmetics (05/07/2008)
Minnesota is the first in the nation to ban intentionally-added mercury in cosmetic products. Minnesota will now have a more stringent standard than the federal government. The federal government currently allows a small amount of mercury as a preservative in eye makeup.
The implications of this new law have already been felt on a national level, however. Many leading cosmetics companies are now being forced to adapt their formulations in order to comply with Minnesota's requirements. Minnesota lawmakers say they passed the bill with hopes that other states will also do so, thereby forcing the federal government to ban it nationwide.
|
NJ: Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson recognizes environmental stewards (05/06/2008)
TRENTON - A program spearheaded by the Department of Environmental Protection to encourage businesses and other institutions to better protect the environment by exceeding regulatory requirements is paying dividends, Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson said today during a ceremony recognizing scores of companies and other entities that have taken steps to become environmental stewards.
"These businesses, public institutions, government agencies and other members of the regulated community are at the leading edge of a new approach to environmental protection and are a clear sign that the concept of using positive reinforcement to stimulate stewardship is taking hold in New Jersey," Commissioner Jackson said during the ceremony at the Naval Air Engineering Station Lakehurst in Ocean County.
The DEP's Environmental Stewardship Program offers public acknowledgement to those who adopt practices that exceed what is required of them by laws and regulations. The DEP then showcases these achievements as incentive for others to follow.
|
NY: New "Green Living" feature on NYS DEC's website (05/05/2008)
The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) recently launched a new feature on its website--"Green Living"--which offers tips, ideas and resource suggestions for making environmentally responsible choices in your life. The Green Living main page can be found under the category Public Involvement and News.
One of the topics you'll find on the main page is '10 Things You Can Do to Help the Environment Right Now.' This section provides quick and easy suggestions relevant to the current season. Examples from this season's list include ideas for less toxic spring cleaning, how to combat crabgrass and what to do with old tires. Each season will highlight ten new tips, so be sure to check back often.
|
NJ: DEP encourages public to green during air quality awareness week (04/29/2008)
(08/29) TRENTON -- Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson today marked the beginning of Air Quality Awareness Week by reminding residents that just a few simple changes every day can contribute to a cleaner, greener environment.
"This special week offers an opportunity to focus more attention on the ways we directly affect the quality of our air and the steps we can take to improve our environment at home, at work and throughout our communities," Commissioner Jackson said.
During Air Quality Awareness Week, which runs from April 28 through May 2, residents are encouraged to make environmentally friendly changes in the way they drive, use energy, purchase a host of products, and maintain their homes and yards. Embracing a greener lifestyle can be as easy as combining automobile trips, carpooling, using "green" cleaning products and manual lawn-care equipment, and switching to energy-efficient light bulbs, for example.
Using special calculators, available on the DEP's Web site, residents and their families can gauge their impact on environmental quality and learn more about changing daily habits.
|
NJ: DEP marks earth week by taking steps to reduce impacts of phosphorus on waterways (04/28/2008)
TRENTON - The Department of Environmental Protection is taking significant steps toward improving the health of New Jersey's lakes, rivers and streams by reducing the impacts of phosphorus, a nutrient that degrades water quality, Commissioner Lisa P. Jackson announced today in marking Earth Week
"Thanks to decades of hard work and strong laws, our waterways have come a long way since the first Earth Day in 1970, but runoff pollution remains a threat to the overall ecological health of our lakes, rivers and streams," Commissioner Jackson said. "These measures, including a pledge by the fertilizer industry to reduce or eliminate phosphorus in lawn-care products, place New Jersey among the nation's leaders in combating this type of pollution."
During an Earth Week event at a West Windsor home-improvement center, Commissioner Jackson signed a memorandum of understanding with members of the lawn-care industry, who pledged to reduce the amount of phosphorus released by fertilizers in the Garden State by 50 percent by 2010.
|
CA: State environmental laws drive power producers to renewable resources (04/22/2008)
WASHINGTON - The Imperial Valley of California is ideal country for solar and wind power. It rains less than three inches a year. Temperatures hit 110 degrees in the summer. The wind blows pretty steadily, too. And it's just east of San Diego.
Now, because of a California law requiring utilities to get 20 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by 2010, this untapped renewable-energy basin has caught the attention of Sempra Energy. The utility, based in San Diego, gets only 6 percent of its electricity from renewable resources, so it has proposed building a transmission line to bring solar power from the desert to the city.
|
European Court of Justice ban Deca-BDE from electronic products (04/21/2008)
A European Court of Justice ruled against the European Union exempting deca-BDE from its list of materials banned in the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Directive. The decision was applauded by environmental groups, the plaintiffs -- Denmark and the European Parliament -- and the State-level supporters of the lawsuit, including Finland, Norway, Portugal and Sweden. "The ruling is a victory for common sense, good science and proper governance," said Doreen Fedrigo, European Environmental Bureau (Brussels, elgium) policy unit coordinator.
The court stressed that the decision was not made based on scientific or safety concerns, noting that "the dispute has essentially arisen over the manner in which the Directive was drafted." The exemption remains in place until June 2008 to allow time for regulatory and marketplace adaptations.
|
The greening of dry cleaning (04/21/2008)
The traditional process of using solvents to clean that favorite dress or shirt is being abandoned for silicone. Known as GreenEarth, the change woos environmentally conscious customers and eliminates the cost of dealing with toxic chemicals.
Best Cleaners, a family-owned chain of dry cleaners in Connecticut, switched from using traditional chemicals seven years ago. Customers prefer the results of the alternative process, said Susan Daniels, a spokeswoman for the 60-year-old company.
|
Mercury in river moves into terrestrial food chain through spiders fed to baby birds (04/18/2008)
ScienceDaily (Apr. 17, 2008) -- Songbirds feeding near the contaminated South River are showing high levels of mercury, even though they aren't eating food from the river itself, according to a paper published by William and Mary researchers in the journal Science.
The paper shows high levels of mercury in birds feeding near, but not from, the South River. Cristol and his colleagues also identify the source of the pollutant--mercury-laden spiders eaten by the birds. The Science paper is one of the first, if not the first, to offer scientific documentation of the infiltration of mercury from a contaminated body of water into a purely terrestrial ecosystem.
|
|
|
