Important Notice About the EPA and some Pesticides

A few days ago I was reading through my local paper and a story struck me as very huge. Unfortunately the article was just a small blurb on an inside page. I wished it had been bigger so it seemed right to share the story here on Green Leaf Reviewer.

I cut the piece out and inadvertantly forgot to note the date it ran in my paper so I apologize for not being able to provide that information. It first ran in USA Today on March 28, 2013. The story is quoted from USA Today but I originally clipped it out of the Arizona Republic.

Study: Two thirds of pesticides got flawed EPA approval

Many pesticides used in consumer products and agriculture received federal approval through a loophole that doesn't require thorough testing, according to a study released Wednesday by an environmental group.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency used a regulatory loophole to approve 65% of 16,000 pesticides that pose a potential threat to public health, according to the two-year investigation by the Natural Resources Defense Council. The authors say the EPA's database makes it unclear how many of those pesticides received adequate, if any, testing.

"People should be concerned, because we have examples of at least two pesticides on the market that shouldn't have been approved," says NRDC attorney Mae Wu, who co-authored the study with Jennifer Sass, a senior health scientist. Wu points to nanosilver, which was approved as an anti-microbial agent in clothing but may damage brain and liver cells, and clothianidin, which was designed to be absorbed into plant tissue but is passed on fatally to bees and other pollinators.

"EPA has not yet had a chance to carefully review the issue brief," the agency said in a statement. It cites its own internal review, posted on its website, that said subsequent pesticide information submitted to the EPA "confirms that products initially registered on a conditional basis are not posing unacceptable risks to human health or the environment."

In that review, however, the EPA said it had widely (98% of the time) misused its "conditional registration" of pesticides from 2004 to 2010...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

What would you like to see done to clean up this issue?

First Annual Arizona Gives Day

The entire state of Arizona - lawmakers, grass-roots activists, businesses, non-profits, and the citizens - are all coming together on Wednesday March 20, 2013 to celebrate the new partnership appropriately dubbed Arizona Gives Day.

This initiative was born just under a year ago when it was brought to the table by Patrick McWhortor and Marissa Theisen of the groups Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits and the Arizona Grantmakers Forum. They were looking for a day of giving in our state that would be a collaboration between every citizen who calls Arizona home.

There are over 800 non-profit organizations participating in the day of giving tomorrow. Donations can be made online and the website is very easy to navigate. Recipients are involved with every corner of life for Arizonans.

Categories include:

• Animals
• Arts & Culture
• Children & Youth
• Community & Society
• Economic Development
• Education
• Environment
• Health
• Humanitarian Aid
• International
• Religion
• Science & Technology

To find out more about a cause or organization you'd like to support on Arizona Gives Day, visit azgives.org then donate as much as you can to help our state aspire to even greater heights!

Not in Arizona? No problem! We'd be happy to accept doantions coming in from across the country or across the globe!

Together, we can make Arizona the most generous state in the nation for even one day!

AAA Magazine As A Green Resource

I've been a member of the AAA Organization for as long as I can remember driving a car. They provide a valuable service, many in fact, and I've made use of their emergency roadside assistance in multiple capacities over the years. Recently while reading my Highroads magazine I came across a small article regarding Green Shops.

A car can be a huge strain on the environment if not properly maintained. Emissions are forefront in many consumer's minds these days but there are other factors that car maintenance can impact which may not even make our radar as we get our cars serviced and cleaned.

Solvents, fluid disposal, spills and energy efficiency are commonly overlooked pieces of the car care puzzle.

I get my oil changed, clean the interior and exterior of my vehicle and make sure my tire pressure is optimal for better gas mileage but where we take our cars to have these services performed can be just as vital as making sure the tasks are completed. AAA has compiled a list of over thirty shops that are on their Green Shops list in and around Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona.

Per the Highroads magazine:

Performing beyond the standard environmental regulations, these shops have adopted additional environmentally friendly practices including:

- Using low-hazard, low-pollution solvents or water-based cleaning
- Recycling and reusing fluids whenever possible
- Practicing spill prevention, sealing shop floors, and recycling oil
- Saving energy with efficient lighting, "green" office equipment, and energy-efficient air conditioning
- Properly maintaining plumbing, installing low-water use fixtures, and using desert landscaping and dry-floor clean-up procedures

If you're in the Phoenix or Tucson area you can learn more about the shops on their list by visiting the AAA Green Shops. To find the list of Green shops in your area contact your local AAA office for more information.

It's just one way we can all ensure we do our environmental part.

Let's Make Phoenix An Even Greener City With Some Blue Bins

Good morning Greenies!  It sure has been a while since my last post and I truly apologize for that.  Between going back to school, moving across the country, writing/editing two novels and watching my Boston Bruins win the Stanley Cup life has been pretty much non-stop action and I just had to let a few things fall by the wayside.

Sadly Green Leaf Reviewer was one of those things.

But now we're moved to Phoenix, Arizona, hockey season is over and I haven't started my next class yet so it seems as good a time as any to toss out a mini update on all things Green in the Southwest!

When we arrived at our apartment complex I was a little sad to see that there weren't separate dumpsters in the complex for recycling.  Because we have so much stuff from moving (newspaper being the real biggie -- the boxes will be stored and given to my sister when she buys her house to move yea!) i was hopeful we would be able to make use of the blue bin for a good chunk of it.

Back in Boston, on average, we had at least double the ammount in our recycle bin to the regular trash bin.  Not having a recycle dumpster was going to present a new challenge for us.  Sadly we had no choice but to hate the environment for a couple days because 1) We had no internet access to locate the closest transfer station and 2) The building management couldn't give us any info on where it was.

Really?  In this day and age I would think that there would be bins everywhere and if not at least there would be information available.  but sadly I was mistaken.

I got relly tired of hating the environment by throwing away all kinds of stuff that I don't even want to talk about tossing so I finally started researching where the closest transfer/recycling drop off location is to me.  Want to know what I found?  A whole lot of nothing unfortunately.

I ended up on the City of Phoenix website, I meandered my way over the the Environment and Sustainability page, and then I found the Recycling Information link was broken.  Bummer.  Instead I found my way to the Green Phoenix site where I learned all kinds of great information on how Phoenix is striving to be the single most sustainable city in America.

Woah, that's a tall order for sure but they have some amazing initiatives they'll be addressing in order to get there including retro fitting buildings with solar, installing more efficient city lighting and a restoration of a huge stretch of the Salt River (a popular vacation destination among other things). 

Of course then it seems totally ironic to me that they're on such a Green kick and I can't even recycle my plastics in my own complex.  Nor can I find a bit of information where I can even take my recyclables to be dropped off locally.  I started on my mission to find out if I could find out more.

The first order of business was to read every link on the page.  A huge resource of information but none pertaining to what I was currently looking for.  Next I located a pdf of what was acceptable to recycle.  At the bottom of that I found an email address which I submitted my question of where to find a transfer station.

And I figured while I was at it I might as well inquire about how to petition to get my community onto a regular recycling pick up rotation.  I mean what's the harm in that right?  An extra dumpster is no problem in a parking lot this size!

I came across the un-broken link of the Pollution Prevention and Recycling page and there is a terrific summary of information on what/why/how Phoenix recycles...just no where!

Hopefully I'll hear back from someone very soon because for as many phenomenal programs that the city is/has spent money initiating of late one of the most basic is lacking in information.  I'll keep the progress up to date and who knows, maybe I'll end up becoming a community activist after all!

Boston Bruins to Receive Merit Award from EPA

Direct from the Boston Bruins website, yesterday's honor of merit from the EPA as a team committed to bettering the environment truly is a wonderful achievement for the team. There are few events that I go to where I see, what appears to be, so much waste and to know that the Bruins are taking steps to help local people in need makes me so overjoyed to be a fan!

Here is the full text from the article (to read online please follow the link above):

BOSTON, MA – On Wednesday, May 11 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will award the Boston Bruins with the Environmental Merit Award during a special ceremony in Boston’s Faneuil Hall beginning at 1:00 p.m. The Environmental Merit Award honors individuals and groups who have shown particular ingenuity and commitment in their efforts to preserve the region's environment. Boston Bruins Foundation Director of Development Bob Sweeney will be accepting the award on behalf of the Bruins organization.

At the start of the 2010 -11 season, the Bruins joined the NHL’s green initiative and partnered with Rock and Wrap It Up! to help fight hunger throughout the United States and Canada. The Boston Bruins committed to work with Rock and Wrap it Up! to pack up all prepared but unsold concession food and give it to local shelters and places in need citywide. To date, the Bruins have donated 4,950 meals and 6,950 pounds of food to the Boston Rescue Mission. Including TD Garden’s contributions, a cumulative total of 15.5 tons of food has been donated to the Boston Rescue Mission.

The Rock and Wrap it Up! project was founded by Syd Mandelbaum, a forensic scientist who in 1991 combined his love of music with a passion for wiping out hunger by redistributing leftover food from rock concerts. The program now works with more than 150 bands, 200 schools and universities and 50 sports franchises. It has collected more than 100 million pounds of food to feed more than 200 million people.

19 environmental awards will be given to Massachusetts environmental groups, individuals, businesses, non-profit and government agencies in Boston’s Faneuil Hall as the EPA presents its annual Environmental Merit Awards for 2011.

The Merit Awards recognize valuable contributions to environmental awareness and problem solving and are a unique way that EPA can recognize individuals and groups that are making significant impacts on environmental quality in distinct ways.

For more informaton on any of the groups mentioned please visit their websites:

EPA
Boston Bruins
NHL
Rock and Wrap It Up!