| POLLUTION
AND TOXICITY
1/18/03 <link>
(updated 1/21/03)
Bush
Administration's stealthy regression on environmental laws
Seth Borenstein of the the San Jose Mercury News presents a review of
key environmental laws and policies (many bipartisan) - of the last
few decades - that the Bush Administration has been reversing in the
last two years. A review worth reading to understand how significantly
our nation is being set back to pacify key business allies.
Time's
Terry McCarthy has a review as well, where he also points out how
Republicans spin themselves to be "conservationists" with
"sincerity" and "concern" to delude voters.
NRDC
has a more detailed Bush II record available.
1/13/03 <link>
U.S.
companies trail other world leaders in handling/recycling electronic
waste
We quote: "...U.S. high tech companies are
the worst globally for taking steps to minimise the use of hazardous
materials in electronic products and encourage the use of greener
materials and recycling, according to the 2002 Report Card from the
Computer TakeBack Campaign (CTBC). According to the report, the U.S.
is now behind other countries in developing solutions to curb the use
of hazardous components in computer manufacturing. The report states
that countries that already have legislation in place such as the
Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) in Europe and the
Appliance Recycling Law in Japan have already gone some way in forcing
manufacturers to reassess their manufacturing processes and accept
responsibility for products throughout their lifecycle...."
12/2/02 <link>
HP
announces support for e-waste recycling Bill in CA
We applaud HP for their vision and reconsidering their earlier
stance on this Bill. Once again a Silicon Valley pioneer leads and
helps CA lead the way. Kudos also to the Mercury News journalist Karl
Schoenberger who wrote the detailed articles on
e-waste - which prompted HP to do something about it.
11/26/02 <link>
What
would Jesus drive?
MSNBC columnist Kuntzman covers a truly visionary "What Would
Jesus Drive?" campaign by the Evangelical Environmental Network
that is asking true believers to reduce pollution and reduce our
dependence on Middle-Eastern oil by shunning poor fuel efficiency
vehicles like the SUV. We applaud their environmental
vision, as much as we were amazed by that of the U.S.
National Council of Churches. (Here's some coverage from ABC
as well.) God Speed to you!
11/25/02 <link>
Massive
toxic electronics waste piles up in Asia
A Mercury News special investigation shows how Asia has become by far
the biggest dumping ground for toxic electronics waste. It is a pity
that effective recycling of such waste is not being practiced by U.S.
companies that generate the waste. What makes the conversion of China
into a e-garbage dump relatively easy is the cheap
labor and labor loopholes.
The poisons within an PC are shown in this
graphic. The current life-cycle of the PC is shown in this
graphic.
For a comprehensive report from the Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition,
"Exporting Harm: The high-Tech Trashing of Asia", click
here.
11/22/02 <link>
Bush
administration to energy companies: it's OK to pollute in violation of
Clean Air Act
In our opinion this is not only a pass to pollute, but
it is a pass to violate the existing laws and a 2001
(Conservative-leaning) Supreme Court decision that clearly stated that
the Clean Air Act should be enforced based on health considerations
and not expenses incurred by companies to clean up their pollution.
(Just so that we keep things in perspective, the
U.S. is still the world's biggest per capita greenhouse gas polluter
on earth. Don't believe us? Hey, we're just saying what the EPA says -
on
its website. The same EPA that has now given the energy industry a
get out of jail free card.)
11/21/02 <link>
Environmental
catastrophe in Spain
Gigantic oil spill from known un-seaworthy ship.
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6/19/04 <link>
REP:
Meet the Republicans for Environmental Protection
1/4/04 <link>
Mercury
News : E-waste ignored in India
Karl Schoenberger follows up his superb reporting on
e-waste in China, with this timely feature on India - in the San
Jose Mercury News. Being originally from India, we would be remiss if we
did not highlight this serious problem.
Some snippets:
"...As
India emerges as a technology powerhouse, poverty, cheap labor and
rampant corruption make it a prime market for the dumping and burning of
unregulated electronic waste, environmental activists say. And
Maheshwari's business is a stark example of this growing global industry
that begins as trash in Silicon Valley and throughout the developed
world and ends in India, China, the Philippines and other developing
countries.
Fed largely by the discards of U.S. consumers and businesses, this
burgeoning traffic in hazardous electronic waste is attracting growing
scrutiny because of the pollution it causes and the danger it poses to
unskilled workers overseas...
``There's a framework to deal with industrial waste in India, but not
for computer waste. It's so complicated because there are multiple
components, with varying degrees of toxicity. And the IT industry is a
holy cow in this country. You can't touch it.''
The Indian government, however, maintains that e-waste is not brought
into the country, pointing to the Indian Supreme Court's 1997 ban on
e-waste imports. Officials also downplay the problem of recycling
electronic trash produced at home.
``E-waste as such is not such a severe problem in our country, because
the waste goes into a secondary market. We are not dumping anything,''
said B. Sengupta, a senior official at the Environment Ministry's
Pollution Control Board in New Delhi. ``Maybe there will be a problem in
five years, but not now.''..."
In our view the Indian Government's position on this
issue is a pile of nonsense. Get with the program guys!
12/3/02 <link>
Federal
Appeals Court blocks offshore oil drilling in CA
Occasional good news is better than nothing!
10/7/02 <link>
Los
Angeles carpool-lane use study
Results mixed overall, but popularity is high. Around 88% of polled
people like it - a third use it to commute with office-goers and the
remainder, with family.
10/1/02 <link>
More
toxic pollutants in the Arctic
9/18/02 <link>
Warning
on toxicity of commonly used garden herbicides, pesticides and
insecticides
Think twice while gardening or when letting your children frolic on
the lawn.
9/17/02
<link>
Toxic
effects of common weed killers
More evidence for why environmental safeguards should be zealously protected.
9/10/02 <link>
USA
Today article cites Edmunds.com in reporting that 99% of SUV owners
never take their SUV "off-road".
So much for all those exotic ads that always keep showing on TV. And the
pollution? Well, what can we say?
9/5/02 <link>
Emissions
Veil Lifted
Can't reduce emissions, Mr. Ford and cronies? Honda and Nissan don't
think so.
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