globalbriefs
Corporate Climate Companies Slowly Embrace Sustainability
T
he 2015 State of Green Business report (Tinyurl. com/2015GreenBusinessReport), which assesses
the environmental performances of companies worldwide, along with the trends to watch, is produced by GreenBiz, in partnership with Trucost. Collectively, companies have been nibbling at the
edges of challenges such as climate change, food security, ecosystems preservation and resource efficiency. One measure of corporate engagement going forward will be proactive involvement on political issues that could accelerate the transition to a low-carbon and more sustainable economy. It remains to be seen whether companies can afford to sit on the sidelines, letting the political process unfold, or worse, play defense against changes that might roil their status quo. 2015 will be an interesting year on multiple fronts, especially with the launch of the new sustainable development goals at the United Nations (UN) in New York this fall, along with UN climate talks in Paris in December. Both will be tests of corporate engagement and resolve in driving the kinds of change many of their CEOs publicly call for. The reports’ findings of companies’ progress in greenhouse gas and emissions, air pollutants, water use and solid waste production are all leveling off or even declining.
Enflamed Water Home Flame Retardants Found in River
S
cientists with the Washington Toxics Coalition tested household dust and laundry wastewater from 20 homes in the state’s cities of Longview and Vancouver and took samples of incoming and outgoing flow from two wastewater treatment plants that discharge into the Columbia River, the Northwest’s biggest waterway. They detected flame retardants in all the tests. The conclusion of the study, published in the journal
Environmental Science & Technology, is that flame retardants are sloughing off household products such as couches and TVs and collecting on people’s clothing, washing out in the laundry and passing through wastewater treatment plants into local waterways.
Source:
WaToxics.org
EPA Blooper Bee-Toxic Pesticide Approved
T
he U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved cyantraniliprole, a new systemic pesticide that is toxic to bees, for agricultural use and has set allowable residue limits on almonds, berries, leafy vegetables and milk. The EPA also approved it as a seed treatment, so it may
show up in GMO (genetically modified) seeds in the future. Cyantraniliprole has been proven to cause liver toxicity, and the EPA notes that it also alters the stability of the thyroid as tested on laboratory rats. Although the agency maintains that the pesticide is not a direct thyroid toxicant, any indirect effects on this glandular function are likely to disrupt the endocrine system. As its current endocrine disruptor screening program is still in the process of validating tests, EPA registration of the new active ingredient is questionable.
Source:
EcoWatch.com NaturalAwakeningsSA.com May 2015 13
Dirty Dollars Stores Filled with Toxic Products
H
ealthyStuff, a project of the Michigan-based Ecology Center,
in collaboration with the Campaign for Healthier Solutions (CHS), has released a report, A Day Late and a Dollar Short: Discount Retailers are Falling Behind on Safer Chemicals, about toxic chemicals found in dollar store products. It includes test results for 164 dollar store products such as toys, jewelry, school supplies and household items and found that 81 percent contained at least one hazardous chemical above a level that generates concern.” The campaign sent a letter to the
CEOs of the four largest dollar store chains, including Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, Dollar General, and 99 Cents Only, urging them to stop the sale of these unsafe products, especially to communities of low-income and ethnic families that already live in more polluted areas and food deserts, and adopt policies that will instead protect both customers and their own businesses. Combined, these discount chains have annual sales totaling more than $36 billion and operate more stores nationally than Walmart. The CHS is asking for a
comprehensive set of reforms; communities need to let dollar store chains know that they want safer products and join local and national efforts advocating for nontoxic products.
Scroll to Dollar Store Report at Healthy
Stuff.org for the complete test results. Take action at
NontoxicDollarStores.org.
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