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In the News
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Get BPA out of our food’s packaging! This month, we have an unprecedented opportunity to make sure our food is free of bisphenol A. By March 31 – just days away – the federal Food and Drug Administration plans to decide whether or not to continue allowing food packaging that leaches BPA. There is no time to lose – the FDA has to hear from you before it makes its call. The government needs to know that Americans will not stand for food contaminated with toxic chemicals. Email the FDA today and tell them you want BPA out of your food’s packaging! |
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| Proposed Massachusetts Year 2012 Integrated List of Waters
The Proposed Massachusetts Year 2012 Integrated List of Waters is provided here (see http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/tmdls.htm – scroll down) for public review and comment. This document will be submitted to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in fulfillment of reporting requirements of both s. 305(b) and s. 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. In addition to the actual proposed listing of the individual categories of waters, the report presents a brief history of water quality management in Massachusetts and presents a brief overview of the methodology that is currently employed for assessing and reporting on the status of Massachusetts waters. The 2012 List is based primarily on new watershed assessments completed for the Blackstone, Boston Harbor (including Mystic, Neponset and Weymouth/Weir), Merrimack and Parker watersheds and the Cape Cod coastal drainage areas. Water quality assessments of these watersheds have been completed and can be found at http://www.mass.gov/dep/water/resources/wqassess.htm. Comments on the Proposed Massachusetts Year 2012 Integrated List of Waters should be submitted in writing to the address below no later than April 30, 2012. MassDEP Division of Watershed Management 627 Main Street, Second Floor Worcester, MA 01608 Attn: Arthur S. Johnson 508-767-2873 Proposed 2012 Integrated List of Waters |
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| Darrow’s Fourth Annual Sustainability Symposium
Darrow School announced today that two noted leaders on the subject of environmental sustainability will present keynote addresses at the Fourth Annual Sustainability Symposium, to be held at the School on Tuesday, April 24, 2012, from 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Created for students, teachers, and interested community members, the symposium includes presentations, displays, discussions, and a locavore lunch featuring locally grown and harvested foods. The event is free and open to the public. The lunch is available for $7 per person and requires reservations. This year’s keynote addresses will feature two noted experts on environmental issues:
The Fourth Annual Darrow School Sustainability Symposium is organized by Craig Westcott, director of Darrow’s renowned Samson Environmental Center (which houses The Living Machine™, the only secondary school-run wastewater treatment facility in the nation), and the director of the School’s venerable Hands-to-Work program, which provides students with experiential learning opportunities to work on campus and in the local community. Westcott said Darrow will also welcome back a number of presenters this year, including several Darrow School alumni, who have participated in previous symposiums. “Having both Bill McKibben and Martin Ping participate in the Sustainability Symposium represents the epitome of Darrow’s effort to provide a forum for our community to think globally and act locally,” Westcott said. “Both grassroots pioneers in education and activism for sustainability, McKibben’s work on climate change has a huge impact at the planetary level, as do Ping’s decades of leadership on the Hudson Valley/Taconic-Berkshire Region. The combination of their messages will create a continuum of possibilities for Symposium participants to be agents of change in their studies, professions, and communities.” Symposium activities are free and open to the public. The sustainable-foods lunch will be available for $7 per person, and reservations are required. Contact Geoff Miller, Alumni Relations and Special Events Coordinator at 518-794-6555 or millerg@darrowschool.org to take part. Media inquiries: Steve Ricci, Director of Communications, at 518-794-6004, riccis@darrowschool.org. First opened in 1932 as the Lebanon School for Boys, Darrow School–-an independent, coeducational boarding and day school for grades 9 through 12–-is located at the historic Mt. Lebanon Shaker Village on the New York-Massachusetts state line. Darrow’s small classes and challenging college-preparatory curriculum afford all students the opportunity for active participation in the learning process. The School has been recognized as a pioneer in the field of “hands-on learning,” and its teachers use real-world topics and a dynamic approach to capture the imagination and make the subject matter come alive. The School is dedicated to serving students with diverse backgrounds and abilities, building on each student’s individual talents and interests to inspire enduring confidence for success in college and life. To learn more, visit www.darrowschool.org. |
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| The Nature Conservancy Protects Berkshire Camp for Urban Youth
“For us, The Nature Conservancy agreement is a win-win situation … It gives us hope.” – Cynthia Fisher, Northrop Camper in 1940s. Tucked away in the far southwestern corner of Massachusetts, Northrop Camp has been a place where youths from New York City public schools gathered since 1923 to swim, camp and discover nature—a first for many of its campers. But when a fire struck the camp’s main buildings in 1993, the future looked uncertain for both the camp and its 300 acres in the town of Mount Washington, an area rich in rare plant and animal species. Recognizing the value of this place, the Conservancy recently acquired a conservation restriction that protects these ecologically important lands and renews hope for Northrop Camp. Your support has helped our land protection staff work tirelessly for more than 15 years to make this project a reality. “Protecting these lands is an incredible accomplishment, in many ways,” says Rob Warren, the Conservancy’s director of protection and policy in Massachusetts. The camp’s lands include high-quality habitat on Cedar and Ethel Mountains, and they connect and add to an 18,000-acre block of protected lands to the east and south and in adjoining New York. Proceeds from the conservation restriction have helped jump-start a new era at the camp, where the long tradition of connecting New York City youths with nature in the Berkshires is being revived. Last summer, a small number of urban youths in a joint program with the Christodora Foundation came to the camp to study nature for a few weeks. It all puts a smile on Cynthia Fisher’s face. Fisher and her two triplet sisters attended Northrop Camp during World War II, giving the siblings their first experiences learning about forests, night skies, gardens and so many other natural wonders. “For us, The Nature Conservancy agreement is a win-win situation.” says Fisher. “It gives us protection that the camp’s lands will be natural forever And it gives us some income for the camp. It gives us hope.” “Protecting Northrop Camp is important for natural services, water quality and resilience of life and will bring joy and learning to many lives,” says the Conservancy’s Rob Warren. “The project merges goals of both the landowner and the Conservancy. It’s the kind of spirit that guides our land protection work across Massachusetts and beyond.” |
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| Flame Retardants Remain Widespread In Children’s Products
from Huffington Post Green, March 13, 2012 Flip over your couch cushion or desk chair and chances are, you’ll see the same tag that is affixed to the bottom of many others: “This article meets the flammability requirements of California Bureau of Home Furnishings Technical Bulletin 117.” The black-and-white notice also adorns an array of children’s products, including car seats, strollers and baby changing mats. It might as well be a red flag, according to many health experts who caution that the added chemicals likely pose a greater health risk than any flames they might fend off. Common flame retardants have been linked with learning disorders, reduced fertility and cancer, they say, and non-chemical alternatives do exist. |
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Dear Friend, I love to cook for my wife and son, but shopping for groceries is another story. Planning the meals, figuring out what store has the best options and making the healthiest, most affordable choices is a lot of work! I bet that I’m not alone, which is why I want to share the go-to resources I use before I go shopping. Whether I’m trying to decide between the supermarket or farmers’ market, what meats to buy or which fruits and vegetables I want, I turn to these websites first: EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce. I always check it when trying to decide which fruits and vegetables to buy organic and which are OK to buy conventional. And keep your eyes open – we will be updating this popular guide with new data soon. The Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food compass just released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This interactive map shows where to find USDA-supported projects in your area that support local food. The Label Decoder in EWG’s Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change + Health. We included this handy explainer on how to read labels on meat and dairy products. From free-range to lean, it helps you know what you’re buying. Organic vs. Natural. What’s the difference between natural and organic anyway? Our friends at The Organic Center have published this handy tip sheet to help us out on that one. EWG’s Sugar in Children’s Cereal Report. In researching this report, published in December, we discovered that many popular cereals have more sugar than Twinkies or chocolate chip cookies. When I’m looking for an alternative breakfast choice, I check out the delicious recipes in EWG’s Five Healthy Breakfast Tips. I hope these help you shop as much as they’ve helped me. Sincerely, Ken Cook President, Environmental Working Group The Environmental Working Group is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization dedicated to using the power of information to protect human health and the environment. The EWG Action Fund is a legislative advocacy organization that uses EWG research to promote healthy and sustainable policies. HEADQUARTERS 1436 U St. NW, Suite 100 | Washington, DC 20009 | (202) 667-6982 |
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| Tell Walmart: Say No to GMO Corn!
Surveys over the past decade have consistently shown that Americans don’t want to eat genetically engineered (GE or GMO) food. But biotech giant Monsanto continues to impose its unlabeled GMO’s onto our dinner plates. The latest is Monsanto’s new GMO sweet corn, intended for the frozen and/or canned corn market. This experimental corn will not be labeled, so consumers cannot know when they may be eating a GMO food that contains a toxic pesticide in every bite. As the nation’s largest retailer and a major provider of frozen and canned corn, Walmart has the responsibility to take action to protect consumers from this risky new corn. More than 300,000 Americans have already signed a petition urging Walmart to make a commitment to reject the new Monsanto GMO variety by April 1. Petitions will be delivered to Walmart this week, so take action today to have your voice heard! Act Now: Add your voice to the call for safe food! Tell Walmart to reject Monsanto’s GMO corn! |
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| BP’s Influence Peddling In Congress Bears Fruit Two Years After Gulf Spill
from Huffington Post Green, March 13, 2012 As millions of barrels of oil began pouring into the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010, Democratic lawmakers began asking the question: what was the proper amount of money that the company responsible for the spill should have to pay? This wasn’t some sort of philosophical exercise. Oil companies pay money into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund to help cover the costs of major disasters. But under the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, a company responsible for a spill is liable for only $75 million in economic damages, provided it didn’t exhibit “gross negligence.” The federal government picks up the next $1 billion. |
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| EPA Unveils New Website on Nutrient Pollution
from Water Headlines for the week of March 12, 2012 EPA is pleased to unveil a new website on nutrient pollution policy and data to help individuals access information on EPA actions to reduce nutrient pollution, state efforts to develop numeric nutrient criteria, and EPA tools, data, research, and reports related to nutrient pollution. Visit the website at http://epa.gov/nandppolicy. Nutrient pollution is one of America’s most widespread, costly and challenging environmental problems, and is caused by excess nitrogen and phosphorus in the air and water. EPA is also pleased to unveil a new website on nutrient pollution for homeowners, students, and educators. The site features information explaining the problem of nutrient pollution; the sources of the pollution; how it affects the environment, economy, and public health; and what people can do to reduce the problem. The site also features an interactive map of local case studies in reducing nutrient pollution. Visit the website at http://epa.gov/nutrientpollution |
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| Western Massachusetts Land Stewardship Assistant
Job ID: 39851 Location: Massachusetts Full/Part Time: Full-Time Regular/Temporary: Temporary
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Two Great Job Opportunities at MSA: Program Officer & Part-Time Disability Inclusion Assistant Dear Friends, The Massachusetts Service Alliance is currently hiring a new Program Officer and a part-time Disability Inclusion Assistant. To view the job descriptions, visit www.mass-service.org. Please forward this message to any qualified candidates. Many thanks, Lindsay Snyder Director of External Relations & Development For more information about the Program Officer position, please contact: Beth McGuinness, Director of Programs 617.542.2544 x217 / bmcguinness@mass-service.org For more information about the PT Disability Inclusion Assistant position, please contact: Andrea Shaye, Program and Disability Inclusion Officer 617.542.2544 x226 / ashaye@mass-service.org |
