ecoficial

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. [...]

An independent expert, commissioned by Greenpeace, has concluded that two nuclear reactors, currently under construction in Finland and France, suffer from serious safety flaws. The EPR (European Pressurised Reactor) design, which is supplied by the French company AREVA, fails to adequately separate different reactor control systems. Greenpeace is calling on the Finnish and French governments to immediately halt work at the EPR construction sites in Olkiluoto and Flamanville.

According to independent nuclear safety analyst Dr. Helmut Hirsch the flaws in the reactor safety systems “in the worst case, can lead to a minor incident developing into a severe accident.” [...]

President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, as part of his first state visit, jointly launched a new U.S.-India Green Partnership aimed at strengthening cooperation between the two nations on a wide range of environment and climate initiatives.

Among these initiatives is the creation of an Indian National Environmental Protection Authority (NEPA), intended to enhance the authority of Indian environmental agencies, improve public information and transparency, demonstrate progress in environmental compliance and enforcement, and ultimately result in improved environmental quality for all Indian citizens. [...]