We All Live Downstream

By Jennifer Clary, California Program Associate

In February two reports about Californians’ drinking water quality were delivered to the state legislature. The first report “Californians with Contaminated Groundwater” found that the source water for 21 million Californians is contaminated and that nearly half a million Californians have unsafe water at the tap (see footnote 1) .  The second report “Recommendations Addressing Nitrate in Groundwater” provides 15 recommendations  to prevent continued contamination of groundwater by nitrate and provide safe drinking water in two of California’s most intensively cultivated agricultural areas.

The highest priority recommendation from California’s State Water Quality Control Board is that  “a new funding source be established to ensure that all Californians, including those in Disadvantaged Communities (DACs) have access to safe drinking water.”   Read the rest of this entry »

Gina McCarthy

By Lynn Thorp, National Campaigns Director

Today the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee was supposed to vote on the nomination of Gina McCarthy to be the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Clean Water Action fully supports this nomination, and we fully support letting EPA do its job.

I’ve been hearing a lot of Senate Republicans criticizing McCarthy and the EPA’s work. This morning they boycotted the hearing due to a perceived lack of “transparency.” And, because all 8 Republicans stayed home the Committee couldn’t vote. The nomination can’t move forward until they show up and vote. It is unacceptable obstructionism. It makes me wonder – who are they representing (hint – it’s not you and me)? Read the rest of this entry »

By Cara Capp, Program Coordinator

The average family comes into contact with toxic chemicals on a daily basis. More often than not they have no idea that everyday consumer products contain chemicals shown to cause harm. Children across America are playing with toys manufactured with phthalates. Moms are making dinner with non-stick pans coated in perfluorooctanoic acid. Dads are serving fruit and vegetables from cans lined with Bisphenol A (BPA). Families are using personal care products laced with endocrine disruptors. Classrooms are full of oil-based art supplies that give off dangerous fumes. These products are all readily available on store shelves typically without a list of ingredients or a warning label. The time for toxic chemical reform is now. Read the rest of this entry »

By Erin Adair, Colorado Program Coordinator

In Colorado, we’ve been extremely engaged on oil and gas issues from fracking on federal public lands down to the fights local communities are waging with the State to keep fracking out of their neighborhoods and away from schools. Recently, the State went through a rulemaking process to increase drill site setback and create drill site groundwater monitoring standards. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is appointed by the Governor and oversees oil and gas operations in the state. The COGCC heard testimony and public comment from many stakeholders including our members and other activists concerned with the impacts of drilling and fracking close to homes and schools. Read the rest of this entry »

By Angelique Giraud, Energy Community Organizer

Right now, Florida’s public health and the safety of our water resources are in jeopardy. Clean Water Action is calling on Governor Rick Scott to veto dangerous legislation that would put our communities at heightened risk for exposure to toxic coal ash. Join us and take action today!

Burning coal generates cheap energy, but at what cost to our environment and public health? Entire ecosystems are destroyed to extract, burn, and dispose of coal. Public and environmental health is threatened at every stage of the lifecycle of coal. Blasting mountaintops to mine the coal contaminates our water and makes us sick. Burning coal releases air pollution that chokes us and damages our lungs. Toxic coal ash landfills and unstable leaking ponds expose us to toxic chemicals through water contamination and sometimes even spills into our neighborhoods.

As if that onslaught of toxic exposure weren’t enough, coal ash is also sold back to us to be reused as filler in products that end up in our homes, schools, and neighborhoods. Read the rest of this entry »

Ken Geiser (second from right) and Richard Clapp (second from left) receive Lifetime Achievement awards presented by Clean Water Action Massachusetts Director, Elizabeth Saunders, and Joel Tickner, Professor of Work Environment at UMass Lowell.

By Elizabeth Saunders, Massachusetts Director

This weekend, Clean Water Action honored Ken Geiser, Co-Director of the Lowell Center for Sustainable Production at UMass Lowell on the occasion of his retirement.

Ken was a primary author of the Toxics Use Reduction Act (TURA), which was enacted by the Massachusetts legislature in 1989 and made Massachusetts a national leader in reducing the use and release of toxic chemicals. Then served as the founding director of the Toxics Use Reduction Institute, which was created by the law.  In it’s 20+ years of existence, the TURA program has worked with Massachusetts companies to reduce 40% of their use and 80% of their release of toxic chemicals, all while saving million of dollars.

As a professor at the University of Massachusetts, Ken deeply influenced many students and helped to inspire them to go on to achieve great accomplishments in the environmental health movement.  At a reception in his honor over the weekend, all of his former students present in the room were asked to stand.  Among those who rose were internationally renowned experts on toxic chemicals policy, leaders of national non-profit organizations, and government officials, including EPA Administrator Nominee Gina McCarthy. Read the rest of this entry »

By Gary Wockner, Colorado Program Director

This originally appeared in Huffington Post.

On Thursday evening, April 11^th, Colorado State Rep. Joann Ginal’s (D-Fort Collins) House Bill 1275 was heard, and died, in committee in the Colorado State Legislature. Rep Ginal’s bill asked and proposed to answer a very honest and simple question, “Are people living near oil and gas drilling and fracking getting sicker than people who don’t?” And, the bill would have provided that information to the public in a short timeframe.

Our organization, Clean Water Action, organizes door-to-door in the Denver metro area and across the northern Front Range where fracking is moving into suburban neighborhoods. We hear a lot of stories on people’s doorsteps and we hear lots of stories from our colleagues involved in this issue. The stories we hear are similar to those reported in the newspaper and offered as testimony at recent meetings of the Colorado Oil and Gas Commission — people believe they are getting sick because of drilling and fracking near their homes, schools and neighborhoods. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lynn Thorp, National Campaigns Director

Let EPA Get the Job Done!

Yesterday’s letter to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Acting Administrator Bob Perciasepe from over two dozen Republican Senators urges EPA to perpetuate the stalemate which is leaving drinking water sources without Clean Water Act protection.

We hope this letter has the opposite effect, which is to remind the Administration that we can’t face today’s clean water challenges with this kind of vulnerability affecting so many of our precious water resources. The science is behind this. Despite this letter’s claims, the intent of the Clean Water Act is behind this.

And if that’s not enough, consider this:

• The water bodies left vulnerable to pollution and destruction serve the drinking water sources for over 117 million people in the United States.
• Just last month, EPA released a report on the condition of our nation’s rivers and streams which found that 55% of them are unhealthy for aquatic life.

We’re urging people to let the President know they care about progress, not stalemate.  Take action today!

By Tom Taylor, Energy Program Intern 

This week Clean Water Action will host the 2013 Great Lakes Awards Celebration. The event will take place on Wednesday, April 17th from 5:30pm to 8:00pm at the Avenue Café in Lansing. The suggested donation is $60 and tickets are available at the door. This year’s event promises to be an exciting evening with dinner, live music, locally brewed beer, a silent auction, and guests with a passion for our environment. RSVP today!

Although our work to protect our environment is never finished, events like these are a perfect opportunity to thank all those who fight to maintain and improve our Great Lakes way of life. The biggest award of the evening will go to Cyndi Roper. Cyndi has been making a difference with Clean Water Action since 1990, and led the fight in Michigan for over a decade as State Director. She has played a vital role in numerous successful water policy, environmental health, and waste issues in Michigan and Rhode Island. Cyndi now serves as the Director of Michigan Voice, a coalition of 501(c)(3) nonprofits dedicated to civic engagement. Other award recipients include State Representative Sam Singh, 5 Lakes Energy principal Douglas Jester, photographer Cheri Smith, and Arbor Brewing Company owner Rene Greff. Read the rest of this entry »