Sierra Club Currents - Protecting Kids from Toxic Toys
Quote of Note: "What has allowed so many [psychopathic personalities] to rise so high in corporations, and now in government, is that they are so decisive. Unlike normal people, they are never filled with doubts, for the simple reason that they cannot care what happens next. Simply can't. Do this! Do that! Mobilize the reserves! Privatize the public schools! Attack Iraq! Cut health care! Tap everybody's telephone! Cut taxes on the rich! Build a trillion-dollar missile shield! F--- habeas corpus and the Sierra Club and In These Times, and kiss my ass!" Kurt Vonnegut November 11, 1922 -- April 11, 2007
(1) Carl Pope to Congress -- Take Action: Increase Fuel Economy (2) Victory: Protecting Kids from Toxic Toys (3) Water: Nor'easter Floods Basements with Sewage (4) Take Action: Protect Our Coasts
(1) Take Action: Increase Fuel Economy Standards Carl Pope, along with former CIA director Jim Woolsey and Admiral McGinn will testify tomorrow before the Congressional Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming on the geopolitical implications of rising oil dependence and global warming. (2) Victory: Protecting Kids from Toxic Toys Thanks to the efforts of the Sierra Club and the group, Improving Kids' Environment, the EPA has decided to take action to protect kids from lead in all children's products. As part of an agreement reached late last week, the agency will be strengthening safeguards and holding up to 120 companies accountable for failing to report health risks from lead in their products. The EPA will also be asking the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which has already taken the first steps to ban lead in toy jewelry, to increase quality controls. Learn more about the toxic effects of lead and find out how you can protect your children. (3) Water: Nor'easter Floods Basements with Sewage In the wake of this week's Nor'easter many residents in the Northeast are facing damages and clean up not only from the extremely strong winds and torrential rains, but also from raw sewage that has flooded their homes. In many places the combined sewer systems that handle both rain runoff and sewage were overwhelmed allowing untreated sewage to spew out. Learn more about smart storm water solutions. (4) Take Action: Protect Our Coasts Over 20 years ago, Congress protected America's coasts, beaches, and marine ecosystems from the threats of oil and gas development when they adopted the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Moratorium. But now our fragile coasts are again being threatened by destructive drilling. Permanent protections are needed to protect these valuable areas for our children. |
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Currents is the Sierra Club's weekly e-mail update providing you with facts, stories, quotes, and "take action" features. |