ecoficial

As part of Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to strengthen and reform chemical management, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently announced a new policy to increase the public’s access to information on chemicals. Starting today, EPA has announced its intention to reject a certain type of confidentiality claim, known as Confidential Business Information (CBI), on the identity of chemicals.

The chemicals that will be affected by this action are those that are submitted to EPA with studies that show a substantial risk to people’s health and the environment and have been previously disclosed on the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Inventory. This action represents another step to use the agency’s authority under the existing TSCA to the fullest extent possible, recognizing EPA’s strong belief that the 1976 law is both outdated and in need of reform. [...]

Environment Ministers from the ‘BASIC’ group of the world’s main emerging economies – Brazil, China, India and South Africa – meet in New Delhi, India, on Sunday 24 January to discuss their joint strategy for the UN climate negotiations. Their session will be the first multilateral meeting following the failure of last month’s climate summit in Copenhagen. [...]

The United States Environmental Protection Agency today proposed the strictest health standards to date for smog. Smog, also known as ground-level ozone, is linked to a number of serious health problems, ranging from aggravation of asthma to increased risk of premature death in people with heart or lung disease. Ozone can even harm healthy people who work and play outdoors. The agency is proposing to replace the standards set by the previous administration, which many believe were not protective enough of human health. [...]

Danish police today released from custody four Greenpeace climate protesters who have endured 20 days of pre-trial detention in Copenhagen prison following a harmless peaceful protest staged on the evening of 17 December. Their release comes a day in advance of their detention being reviewed by a Danish judge. The four activists still face trial in the Danish courts, and possible prison sentences. [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency released its most comprehensive study of the nation’s lakes to date. The draft study, which rated the condition of 56 percent of the lakes in the United States as good and the remainder as fair or poor, marked the first time EPA and its partners used a nationally consistent approach to survey the ecological and water quality of lakes. A total of 1,028 lakes were randomly sampled during 2007 by states, tribes and EPA.

“This survey serves as a first step in evaluating the success of efforts to protect, preserve, and restore the quality of our nation’s lakes,” said Peter Silva, assistant administrator for EPA’s Office of Water. “Future surveys will be able to track changes in lake water quality over time and advance our understanding of important regional and national patterns in lake water quality.” [...]

Imagine writing a letter to the future. And getting a reply.

Love Letters to the Future is part puzzle, part story, part activism. It’s about climate change and the impacts it will have on our future. It’s a multi-platform experience – an alternate reality game – created by Emmy Award winning Xenophile Media in cooperation with Greenpeace, and it’s live now. [...]

Last year 4.7 million students and 1.1 million faculty and staff from 510 participating campuses collectively recycled or composted just over 69.4 million pounds of waste during the 10-week RecycleMania competition.

This “friendly” competition pits colleges and universities in a contest with cross town rivals and schools across the nation to see who can reduce, reuse, and recycle the most campus waste. It offers bragging rights and special awards made out of recycled materials to the winning schools. [...]

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is warning consumers to beware of unscrupulous vendors who may market ineffective and unregistered products or services that claim to disinfect surfaces or entire rooms against the H1N1 influenza virus. In the current flu-conscious climate, heightened anxiety about the spread of the H1N1 virus has bred false claims in the marketplace. [...]