Summer is coming, you need an anti-mosquito plan. Here is an easy solution using simple ingredients and a 2 quarts plastic bottle:
- 7 oz of hot water
- 1.75 oz of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of yeast
Cut the bottle in half. Keep both ends. Mix brown sugar with hot water, let it cool down. Add the liquid into the lower half of the bottle. Add the yeast, no need to mix. Put the upper half with the neck down in the lower half. Wrap the trap with a black sheet, do not cover the top.
Place the trap out of reach of children
Pictures here.

There is one aspect of my job that I love beyond measure is that it gives me the opportunity to meet truly passionate individuals and groups, and let me underline a crucial point here, passionate entrepreneurs are often reasonable and progressive. These are actually three main traits that characterize successful entrepreneurs. The type of entrepreneurs that I have been meeting in the last three years shares this in common: they are very attune with their environment and the impact they have on the economy, society and environment, at any level. They are progressive, triple bottom line focused, social and environmental entrepreneurs, and one thing they will not compromise on is their values and code of ethics. I have discovered over this weekend this applies to organic medical marijuana outdoor growers as well. Continue Reading »

From Megan Schwarzman, (PI), MD, MPH, Research Scientist at the UC, Berkeley School of Public Health

UC Berkeley and NRDC publish a report from the Breast Cancer and Chemicals Policy Project
Although breast cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer and death in women, even the small numbers of chemicals that undergo safety testing are not routinely evaluated for their impacts on mammary (breast) tissue. The Breast Cancer and Chemicals Policy Project was conceived to address this issue by developing a toxicity testing approach for screening and identifying chemicals linked to the disease. This project followed the recommendations of the NAS report, Toxicity Testing in the 21st century by promoting the use of rapid, cell-based tests to detect early (upstream) indicators of the disease.

An expert panel of 20 scientists and policy experts investigated the biological mechanisms associated with breast cancer and developed a testing strategy for screening and identifying chemicals that could increase the risk of the disease. Download the report here: http://coeh.berkeley.edu/greenchemistry/cbcrp.htm

A brief description of the project and its findings is attached here.  Your comments and feedback on the report are welcome.
In addition, Sarah has posted a blog about the project here: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/sjanssen/breast_cancer_and_the_environm.html
Meg Schwarzman and Sarah Janssen
Co-Directors, Breast Cancer and Chemicals Policy Project

Testifying before the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Subcommittee on Consumer Protection and Finance, which is currently considering legislation to control toxic substances, John R. Quarles, EPA Deputy Administrator said: “Existing Federal laws fail to deal evenly and comprehensively with toxic substances problems. While some authority exists to control the production of certain categories of toxic substances, such as pesticides, drugs, and food additives, most existing Federal authorities are designed to prevent harmful exposure only after the substances have been introduced into production.” Continue Reading »

Can businesses focusing on the triple bottom line lead the way in addressing matters as diverse as climate change, social justice, environmental health and financial responsibility? Can they drive much needed policy reform such as climate change, toxic chemicals and consumer financial protection?

As surprising it might sound to some, the answer is yes. Continue Reading »

Greening our lifestyle and activities can be a daunting enterprise, especially when we start with a strong will to go green, little time and a vague idea about what is the problem, what’s causing it and how to fix it. So the idea of providing consumers and businesses some indicators in the form of third-party ratings, labels and certifications about one product and/or organization environmental performance seemed at first a good one. That was until the stakes became to high. Continue Reading »

# Jeffrey Hollender announced Seventh Generation new growth plans: become a $1 Billion dollars corporation in the next 5 years. The Vermont based company hired Chuck Maniscalco, former Pepsi-Co champion and entered into a partnership with CleanWell Company to market (natural) disinfectant-cleaners.

Why does it matter? Continue Reading »

The case for reforming TSCA (Toxic Substance Control Act) has become stronger and stronger year after year. It has never been so evident than in the last three months. The Environmental Working Group’s scientific studies showed we “host” a synthetic chemical cocktail – many of them known to lead to acute and chronic illnesses – a situation that poses a health and safety risk to pregnant women, the development of fetus and children, proving that TSCA does not adequately protect us from toxic chemicals. The Safer Chemicals Healthy Families coalition  – gathering health care professionals, professional organizations, businesses, environmentalists and local officials – in a new report has put an estimate to the cost associated to caring for people affected by illnesses linked to chemical exposure. Continue Reading »

Not surprisingly Green Age’s 2009 top 3 personalities have made the headlines for the right reasons. The months preceding Copenhagen have brought the spotlights on many individuals and organizations, but no one had been more expected than President Barack Obama. Some have been disappointed by his position, more by the lack of concrete results, and to sum up this year’s climate talk “We do not have the fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement that millions around the world hoped the world leaders gathered in Copenhagen would deliver. They are not done yet, and neither are we.” posts 350.org on their web site. As important this event was, let’s not forget there is a life outside climate change negotiations; organizations and individuals that have made a real difference in advancing the cause of a cleaner and a safer world, conservationists, scientists and activists alike have helped push environmental and health issues one (at least) step further. So without any delays, here is our top 3:

#3: The Climate Change Activists. Copenhagen and environmental talks could not have been the same without them, they are at the heart and soul of the contestation movement, and although they some times have made the headlines for the wrong reasons, it would be silly to ignore their roles in telling the world what was really happening in Copenhagen: tcktcktck, 350.org, avaaz.org, Union of Concerned Scientists and so many more that have rallied millions of people under the banner “A Fair, ambitious and bidding agreement now”. Keep the beat up, people! and so many more that have rallied millions of people under the banner “A Fair, ambitious and bidding agreement now”. Keep the beat up, people!

#2: Ken Cook, without a moment of hesitation is the environmentalist who, in our humble opinion, can contribute the most to environmental and health protective reforms. His non-profit, Environmental Working Group that he started with Richard Wiles in 1993, has raised to become one of the most respected voice in the green community through acute analyses. This year alone, EWG’s work in toxic chemicals in umbilical cord and many children products, school clening supplies, farm subsidies and water pollutions have helped change the conversation and speed the ban of some of the most harmful chemicals. He was also named ultimate green game changer by Huffington Post.

#1: And the winner is … President Barack Obama. We can’t think of anyone who has had more impact on the green and sustainable scene since Al Gore and the release of the Inconvenient Truth in 2006. President Obama did not wait long before pushing green initiatives. Even before taking office, he and his staff met with hundreds of NGOs, green and cleantech professionals. Immediately after moving to the White House, (and we’re going to cite our friends from Grist.com) “he appointed the greenest Cabinet ever, chock-full of top-notch scientists and long-time climate advocates. His administration has made massive green stimulus investments, set EPA moving forward to regulate CO2 and chemical policy reform, pushed green jobs, promoted eco-friendly retrofits, established new fuel-economy rules and efficiency standards, launched national retrofit programs, delayed mining and drilling permits, set new energy standards and goals for all federal departments, created a White House garden and farmers market, and oh so much more”. Unfortunately he has deliver more mountaintop-removal permits than his predecessor – although he plans to make it more constraining; we’re still waiting for him to take a position in regards to GMOs and conventional biofuels; and – but that is not very fair to charge him for this – he has not been able to impose (or convince) the Houses and the world of the necessity to adopt and implement drastic measures to curb the world’s CO2 emissions. But hey, in less than a year, he has done more than the last 3 presidents combined.

If junk food is synonymous for unhealthy food, microwavable popcorn flavored with artificial butter might be topping the list. Two years ago manufacturers of such delicacy made the decision to ban diacetyl from the artificial butter. Well two years later, it appears that the diacetyl substitute might be even more toxic. Despite the disturbing fact that flavor manufacturers and food companies have replaced one toxic artificial flavor with another one and claiming it was safe and natural, the even more disturbing reality is that no one is doing anything to stop this. True, diacetyl is a natural byproduct of fermentation that gives butter its irresistible flavor (that warm baguette with melting butter on it), but part of an artificial butter flavoring formula heated at a high level and it comes a recipe for toxic exposure. But I’ll stop there and encourage you to read Andrew Schneider’s article. What he unveils is another scary failure to protect consumers and workers’ health.

Since I wrote a post titled “Autism: An urgent public “health challenge” or just another smoke screen?” I have spoken with an MD, a scientist and a pediatrician about it and suffice to say I feel a bit misunderstood. But one thing is sure: it is definitely difficult to write about the topic of vaccination without running the risk of being put into either the pro or the anti vaccination category. Continue Reading »

Does any Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD news report strike a chord within you? Are you feeling prompted to open the news link and read it in hope there is finally an answer or even the beginning of one? Or do you just avoid it fearing that you will emerge a lot more frustrated and confused than you were the last time you read about ASD? When I read about ASD, whether it is a – sad – story, a new research study, a governmental agency’s report (…) my first thoughts go to these hundred of thousands of children who have been diagnosed with ASD or other biochemical and psychological disorders, to their families that endure the heart breaking journey of raising and caring for these kids with special needs, feeling hopeless 9 days out of 10. I know almost certainly that this piece of news will make mention of a probable correlation between some vaccines and ASD and the most anticipated reality will strike again … “we do not know what is causing it” … is it so? Continue Reading »

When we take a closer look at GM seed manufacturers claims, they look either deceiving or unable to deliver and their attempt to explain crops failure by blaming insufficient fertilization in laboratory is not really convincing … Continue Reading »

Today (5/12/09), the French government was launching le Haut Conseil des Biotechnologies (High Counsel on Biotechnologies), an initiative aimed at assessing GMO’s impact on human health and the environment, in other words an attempt at solving the many controversies around these lines. The ultimate goal – or secret ambition – is to propose the EU with a guidelines and directives covering science, ethic, economic impact and legal to draft the next EU legislation with regards to GMOs. Continue Reading »

Bloggers from all horizons and interests are offering their perspective(s) on President Obama’s first 100 days in office. He has been … himself … challenging and challenged. I went from hopeful to worried, from reassured to disappointed, but ultimately, in 100 days, Obama has positioned the environment the place and role it deserves. Take it from what it’s worth, there is a long road ahead of us, but those first 100 days have been critical in giving this country a new direction that put the environment at the center of the decisions the administration is making in terms of policies and directions. What I have been most impressed with, is his wit at bringing around the same table people with opposite interests or divergent opinions.

Continue Reading »