News from our member organizations

Green Quiz Answer - School Lunch Waste

As the kids head back to school, it’s a perfect time to consider the impact and added cost of “convenience” foods and the packaging used in school lunches. It can be difficult to resist kid-sized throwaways -- especially when kids buy into the colorful advertising targeted to them and beg you to buy these products. But all those packages multiplied by hundreds of thousands of students and schools nationwide adds up to a lot of extra waste!

Last month we asked you: How much waste does the average student carrying a packed lunch produce each school year?

A. 67 pounds    B. 54 pounds    C. 38 pounds    D. 97 pounds

The correct answer is A. 67 pounds. Congratulations to this month’s Green Quiz winners!

Sixty-seven pounds of waste per student adds up to a whopping 18,000+ pounds of waste produced by an average-sized elementary school in one year. Reducing that number would make a huge impact!

Here are some tips to get started:

• Get a long-lasting lunch carrier. For bonus points, aim for products made with eco-friendly materials and added insulation for keeping food chilled in hot weather.


• Invest in a BPA & PVC-free reusable drink bottle and stock up on safe reusable food containers. For more information on keeping poison plastics out of your back-to-school shopping cart, check out The Center for Health, Environment & Justice’s latest guide to PVC-free school supplies.


• Opt for durable, washable cloth napkins and real silverware. Sure, kids might lose a fork or two, but in the long run this is a better option than tossing all that paper and plastic.


• Choose food that your child is less likely to waste. No surprise here - food waste is a big problem too. Try taking your kids with you to your local farmers market to find healthy items they enjoy and that need no added packaging. For a great farmers market resource, check out American Farmland Trust’s list of top rated markets, or check out Local Harvest's database.


• Consider buying some food items in bulk. This is not only a great way to reduce packaging waste, but can also add up to significant savings on your grocery bill, especially for big families.

Why it matters.

• Landfills across America are reaching capacity, creating the need for new facilities to be built farther away. This is leading to higher disposal fees, more wear and tear on local roads, and increased emissions from truck traffic.


• More trash incinerators = more air pollution. Creating less trash cuts down on the harmful emissions caused by this process.


• Plastic waste can take more than 1,000 years to degrade and it is estimated that 10% of the plastic produced worldwide each year ends up in our oceans.


• Money set aside for disposal costs at schools could be used instead for education programs, books, school activities, and more. Plus, waste-free packed lunches save an average of $246.60 per person per year – that can add up to some serious family savings!

Just as importantly, packing a healthy, waste-free lunch is a great opportunity to teach kids good green habits and smart nutrition.

Teachers, you can help raise awareness in your school by suggesting field trips to recycling and disposal facilities, and encourage students to start their own waste-free lunch program! For even more great ideas, visit WasteFreeLunches.org!

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Tips for Earth-friendly Coffee Breaks

Whether you prefer your java in the morning, at noon or at night, most of us are more interested in getting our daily caffeine jolt than pondering whether our cup of joe is environmentally friendly. But even small changes in our coffee routines can add up to a lot less waste and a healthier planet!

Here are some easy steps you can take to make your next brew tasty, healthy, and earth-friendly.

• Invest in the perfect reusable mug and kick the Styrofoam disposable cup habit. Polystyrene isn’t biodegradable, and after just one use most cups will end up lingering in a landfill for centuries.

• Support local brewers and cafes – the less distance your coffee has traveled from farm to mug, the better.

• Resist the temptation to use individually packaged sugars, creamers, and throwaway stirrers. If your favorite coffee shop doesn’t offer alternatives, consider politely asking them to change their ways.

• Check for Fair Trade certification. Fair Trade labels ensure safe working conditions and fair compensation for farm workers. Many Fair Trade certified commodities are also grown without the use of genetically modified organisms (GMO’s) or pesticides.

• Go organic and shade-grown. Coffee that has been certified organic is grown and processed without toxic chemicals, and shade-grown or bird-friendly certifications promote the preservation of migratory bird habitats on coffee plantations. Rainforest Alliance’s certification ensures a number of sustainable farming practices including shade coverage, water, and pesticide standards.

• Be your own barista. If you’re on the market for a new coffee maker, try a French press. Unlike most coffee machines, French presses are manual, don’t require paper filters, and use less water and energy per brew. While you’re at it, choose organic milk and fair trade sugar.

• Use only the amount of coffee grounds that you really need. If you’re grinding your own beans, use the shortest time possible to obtain your desired coffee consistency.

• Give your coffee grounds a second life - keep them handy in the kitchen to scrub grease off of pots and pans or try placing them in the refrigerator to absorb common odors. Turns out used coffee grounds also make great plant fertilizer! Toss them in with your compost heap or sprinkle them on soil to add a natural nitrogen boost.

Earth Saving News > August 31, 2010

Careful what you fish for.

Missing fresh local seafood from the Gulf? We all are: the Gulf used to account for a majority of the domestic shrimp and oysters eaten by Americans. So it sounds like good news that the federal government recently reopened 4,281 additional square miles of water for commercial and recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico. This represents the third area in the Gulf to be cleared of the fishing ban in the aftermath of the recent BP oil spill. More than 48,000 square miles of water remain closed.

But despite government assurances that this seafood is safe for consumption, a recent AP poll of 1,007 adults found that 54% aren’t quite ready to trust seafood from the Gulf. Could it have something to do with statements like this one from the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) website? -- "Although crude oil has the potential to taint seafood with flavors and odors caused by exposure to hydrocarbon chemicals, the public should not be concerned about the safety of seafood in stores at this time." Sounds delicious!

It seems many of us are taking a wait-and-see approach. Meanwhile, the Natural Resources Defense Council and several other groups working in the Gulf have called upon the FDA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to strengthen current protocols for determining whether seafood is safe and when fishing areas should be re-opened. For more information about seafood and the Gulf disaster, check out Food & Water Watch’s Gulf seafood Fact Sheet and download their latest Seafood Guide to help you make smart and sustainable seafood choices.

Happy, healthy (and increasingly popular) organic hens.

The recent recall in the U.S. of more than 500 million eggs contaminated with salmonella has prompted a spike in business for organic egg farmers and farmers markets where these eggs are sold. What makes an egg organic? They’re produced by free-range hens that eat an organic, pesticide-free diet without added hormones or antibiotics. These eggs often have a natural nutritional boost, including higher levels of Vitamin B, Folic Acid, Iron, and Omega-3 fatty acids.

This recent food safety scare has been linked to mass-production factory farms like the Wright County and Hillendale Farms. These operations keep chickens caged very close together, creating an environment where salmonella and other bacteria can easily spread. Not just that (and if you have a weak stomach, you may want to skip this part), but federal inspectors checked out two Iowa egg farms connected to the salmonella outbreak and found barns infested with flies, maggots and scurrying rodents, overflowing manure pits, and uncaged hens tracking through waste. Turns out, eggs get contaminated from infected hens.

While organic eggs are not entirely immune to contamination, the USDA’s organic standards ensure that these chickens are given more space, making it less likely that diseases will be transmitted. Considering that most of America’s large egg farms have gone largely uninspected for decades, and that the FDA is just now embarking on an inspection tour that won’t be completed until late next year, you may be looking for a free-range, organic egg source yourself! Check out American Farmland Trust’s list of top 5 Farmers Markets in your state, and visit Local Harvest’s website to find farmers' markets, family farms, and other sources of sustainably grown food in your area!

Rising temperatures = more coffee for beetles, less for us?

This particular threat from climate change could really rock your world, if you’re as fond of a daily coffee fix as we are! Coffee is one of the most highly traded commodities in the world, but new research reveals a growing threat to coffee farms that’s being fueled by steadily rising global temperatures. The coffee berry borer beetle, nonexistent in coffee growing regions in the 60’s, is now a widespread pest and causes an estimated $500 million in crop damage every year! Yale Environment 360 reported findings from a recent insect physiology study that found “… for every 1.8 degrees F increase in temperature, the coffee berry borer became 8.5 percent more infectious on average.” Data from the same study revealed that even coffee grown at higher altitudes, which experts once considered immune to beetle infestations, are also at risk. The critters have been devastating coffee plants in Africa, Latin America, and around the world.

The key seems to be reducing the temperatures of the coffee berry crops, and one of the best solutions could be the simple shade of a tree. Tree shade has been found to reduce crop temperatures by as much as 3 -7 degrees F. Shade-growing is widely known to produce a higher-quality product and it’s also an important sustainable growing standard that protects migratory bird and animal habitats. The downsides are that shade trees can take years to grow, and not many coffee retailers are promoting shade-grown coffee to customers.

The final word from researcher Juliana Jaramillo, a biologist at Kenya’s International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology: “I think the coffee industry has two options. Either they start investing in climate research, or they educate the consumers to drink something else.” Yikes!

Make sure your beans are shade grown and sustainably farmed by looking for Rainforest Alliance certified products, and check out our latest Green Tip for more environmentally-friendly brewing ideas!

 

(Beyond Pesticides, September 1, 2010) A resurgence of bedbugs across the U.S. has homeowners and apartment dwellers taking desperate measures to eradicate the tenacious bloodsuckers, with some relying on dangerous outdoor pesticides and fly-by-night exterminators. However, these measures pose more dangers than any perceived short-term benefit, as non-toxic alternatives are not widely discussed. Bed bugs [...]

This summer WTA's youth volunteers have worked across the state making improvements to trails hikers love.

The Texas Water Development Board has just published their 2008 water use data summaries.  You can take a look at your city, county or region and see how your area measures up.  

The data includes water use estimates for the following water-use categories: municipal, manufacturing, mining, steam-electric power, irrigated agriculture, and livestock. The county-level estimates also provide estimates of groundwater and surface water use.

This information is useful for both assessing where we are, but also seeing what work needs to be done across the state.

This week, U.S. EPA proposed something that could change the way consumers spend car-buying dollars—labels that make sense.             For 30 years, the federal government has required new cars and light trucks on sales lots to carry labels that show consumers the miles-per-gallon performance of that particular car or truck model. These labels have been [...]

8/31/10 News Tribune story on Puget Sound Partnership health indicators

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Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

Yesterday, at its annual meeting, the Environmental Council of the States (ECOS) unanimously adopted a resolution calling on Congress to enact strong and comprehensive reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA).

ECOS is comprised of the heads of the environmental agencies in the U.S. states and territories.  Its new resolution includes major elements of reform that EDF and the other health and environmental members of Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families have been calling for. 

Reform elements in the ECOS resolution include: 

• shifting the burden of proof of safety to the chemical industry;
• providing EPA with authority to ensure the safety of all new and existing chemicals, and to take expedited action to control unsafe chemicals;
• sharing data deemed legitimately confidential with state governments;
• avoiding any pre-emption of state authority to address chemical safety concerns except where a direct conflict with federal requirements arises; and
• mandating improvements in addressing chemicals the uses of which fall under the jurisdictions of more than one federal agency.

Happily, these reform elements are also included in the Toxic Chemicals Safety Act of 2010 (H.R. 5820) – introduced by Congressmen Bobby Rush and co-sponsored by Representatives Kathy Castor, Diana DeGette, John Sarbanes, Jan Schakowsky and Henry Waxman – as well as in companion legislation in the Senate, the Safe Chemicals Act of 2010 (S. 3209), introduced by Senator Frank Lautenberg.

At a House subcommittee hearing on H.R. 5820 held on July 29, I testified on behalf of EDF, and joined witnesses from EPA, the Connecticut Coalition for Environmental Justice, Environmental Working Group and Construction Specialties (an international construction firm based in central Pennsylvania), all of whom gave testimony supporting a fundamental overhaul of TSCA.  The only witnesses opposing such reform were from the chemical industry.

With ECOS' unanimous adoption of its resolution, there's no question that U.S. states – many of whom have been at the forefront of addressing chemical safety concerns for years – are formally and collectively joining the ranks of those calling on Congress to enact sweeping changes to TSCA.

Seems like the only question left is this:  When will the chemical industry make good on the much-touted promise it made last year to support real reform?

The Nature Conservancy of South Carolina on August 31 closed on a significant conservation easement in Jasper County that legally protects 5,068 acres in the Savannah River Preserve.

Students at Frankton Elementary supports the Conservancy by protecting acres of rainforest.

A Hawaiian plant species that had not been seen in a century and which was presumed extinct has been discovered on Parker Ranch lands in the Kohala region of Hawai'i Island.

(Beyond Pesticides, August 31, 2010) As the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) continues its review of the popular herbicide atrazine, a new study shows that male rats prenatally exposed to low doses of the gender-bending chemical are more likely to develop prostate inflammation and to go through puberty later than non-exposed animals. The research adds to [...]

The North Fork Sauk trail is closed from Aug. 31 through Sept. 3.

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