3/4/08

PREVENTING ENVIRONMENTAL HARM CATCHES ON BIG TIME IN NY STATE   as Gov announces the New Pollution Prevention Institute! The PPI will house a Green Chemistry program at the Rochester Institute of Technology. Governor Spitzer has even proposed doubling its budget to $4 million. CHEJ continues to work to prevent environmental harm, and this major toxic reduction program is a great victory and a priority campaign.
[Click here to read the Governor's Press Release: ]

1/25/08

30 years after Love Canal, Western New York’s natural habitats finally receive settlement money from contaminating chemical companies.   Read Lois Gibbs’ statement on the settlement distribution:
[Click Here]

1/24/08

Nuclear Power Plants: As if We Needed One More Reason to Say NO!   An industry that claims it is safe, clean and efficient just keeps proving it is anything but…read more on why these harmful plants are not the answer to our energy woes:[read full article]

1/24/08

When reacting to harm isn’t enough: A Decade of Precautionary Thinking leads the nation forward… There’s a new approach to stopping toxic and chemical harm in our country, it aims to prevent it instead.  Learn more about the precautionary principle and how this forward-thinking approach is now celebrating ten years of movement in America:[read full release]

Southeast Precautionary Action Conference

Over 120 people gathered in Greensboro, NC this November and developed plans for taking precautionary action on mega-dumps, landfills, nuclear power and sewage sludge. The conference proceedings feature a Resource Guide, photographs, national expert speaker presentations, and workshops on organizing, messaging, health studies and more. [Click here to see Conference Proceedings]

Sears/Kmart Become Latest Retail Giants To Phase Out Toxic PVC Plastic, Major Source Of Lead, Phthalates, And Dioxin Exposure
CHEJ Wins Trifecta as 3rd Big Box Giant Moves to Prevent Harm for Consumers

Sparked by a national campaign led by CHEJ, together with a coalition of health and environmental organizations, today Sears Holdings (Sears and Kmart) has announced its plans to begin phasing out products and packaging containing the toxic polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, commonly known as vinyl.
[read full release]
[learn more about Sears' commitment]

VICTORY! Target to Systematically Reduce PVC in Infant Products, Children's Toys, Shower Curtains, Packaging
We did it! After a national campaign by CHEJ and a coalition of health and environmental organizations, Target has agreed to systematically reduce its use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic, commonly known as vinyl. The company is reducing PVC found in many of its products including infant products, children’s toys, shower curtains, packaging and fashion accessories. Target, the fifth largest U.S. retailer with $59 billion in revenues a year, is joining a growing list of dozens of companies that are eliminating or reducing its PVC products and packaging.
[read full release]
[ learn more about Target's commitment]
[read the story in the Wall Street Journal]
[read the story in the Washington Post]

New Resources!

True Cost Clearinghouse
Science and Environmental Health Network's clearinghouse includes articles and reports on the economic and social costs of pollution, worker exposure and resource exploitation. 

CHE Toxicant & Disease Database
The Collaborative on Health and the Environment's searchable database summarizes links between chemicals and approximately 180 human diseases or conditions. 

Toxipedia
A new toxicology encyclopedia and resource center website aims to provide information on the hazards and risks of chemicals and connect science and people.

Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty
The United Church of Christ released a new report, "Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty," a follow-up study to their original report two decades ago that helped spark the environmental justice movement. The report finds that minority communities are as or more unfairly burdened with toxic waste now than they were 20 years ago. [Read a summary of the report.]

CHEJ Responds to Wal-Mart Chemicals and Packaging Policies
Wal-Mart unveiled a new safer chemicals policy to phase out toxic chemicals in products and packaging scorecard to rank suppliers on sustainable packaging.  Wal-Mart gave PVC the worst possible rating as a packaging material. 
Read CHEJ’s response.