Bags are a Leading Source of plastic marine pollution

• International Coastal Cleanup data shows that bags are one of the leading causes (#4) of marine wildlife entanglement
• Plastics in the ocean degrade into micro-plastics and are ingested by marine wildlife, replacing food sources for many marine species - causing them to become part plastics - or to choke or suffocate
• Trash deprives marine ecosystems of oxygen and degrades water quality- it chokes shorelines and wetlands, degrading habitat

Disposable bags represent a huge waste of resources

• Approximately 8 million barrels of oil are used each year to manufacture the 19 billion plastic bags used in California.

In this issue of California Currents|online:

Keeping PCBs Out of the Bay

At its October hearing the State Water Board will consider approving a San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board plan to address polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Bay. These chemicals, which were banned in the 1970s, are linked to cancer, developmental impairment, and other serious health impacts. They accumulate in the fat of living organisms, including fish and the people who eat them.

Prop 65 Listing of Two Plastic Additives Under Attack

The chemical industry, represented by the American Chemistry Council, spends millions of dollars each year in California protecting the industry's profits and blocking efforts to protect the environment and the public from harmful chemicals. The most recent battle has been over adding the plastic additives bisphenol A (BPA) and styrene to California's Proposition 65 list.

California Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

By Jennifer Clary

On August 4, Democratic leaders in the Senate and Assembly released legislation to address the problems of the Delta, where a precipitous decline in local species that prompted a court-ordered reduction in pumping has sparked serious discussions about how to restore the region's ecosystem. Key leaders met behind closed doors for several months to craft this legislation.

The five bills promote a new concept of "co-equal goals" - that is, simultaneously protecting Delta species while ensuring a reliable water supply for agricultural and urban Delta water users. A framework for constructing a Peripheral Canal is also part of the package.

California Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

In February 2009, Clean Water Action welcomed Virginia Madueño to our California team as we expand our outreach to communities in the northern Central Valley who do not have access to clean water.  We are delighted to have Virginia working with us and wanted you to hear, in her own words, about the work she is doing.

California Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

By Yi Wang

The chemical industry, represented by the American Chemistry Council, spends millions of dollars each year in California protecting the industry's profits and blocking efforts to protect the environment and the public from harmful chemicals. The most recent battle has been over adding the plastic additives bisphenol A (BPA) and styrene to California's Proposition 65 list.  

California Currents|Online, Summer 2009 - Update

By Andria Ventura

PCBs in San Francisco Bay? We don't think so.
Take action now!

At its October hearing the State Water Board will consider approving a San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board plan to address polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Bay. These chemicals, which were banned in the 1970s, are linked to cancer, developmental impairment, and other serious health impacts.  They accumulate in the fat of living organisms, including fish and the people who eat them.

Clean Water Action opposes the Regional Board plan because of its weak clean up goals and implementation requirements. More specific and proactive steps must be included to keep PCBs from washing into the Bay from contaminated land sites. Big companies, like General Electric, are trying to evade their responsibility for cleaning up contaminated sites.

In this issue of Clean Water Currents|Online:

For California Woman, Protecting A River Can Cost You A Job
Heather Wylie traded her job for a river. And, given the choice, she'd do it again.

Summer 2009, Volume 37, No. 2

Children's bubble baths should be clean, safe and fun. But No More Toxic Tub, a report published in March 2009 by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics in partnership with Clean Water Action and other organizations, found contaminants and other hazardous ingredients in numerous popular shampoos, soaps and body care products marketed to babies and children. The report lists 38 products that were shown to be contaminated with the carcinogenic chemicals formaldehyde, 1,4-dioxane or both, although neither contaminant appears on product labels.

Executive Summary

For decades, the Clean Water Act protected the Nation's surface water bodies from unregulated pollution and rescued them from the crisis status they were in during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Now these vital protections are being lost. This report details the threat to our Nation's waters by examining dozens of case studies, and highlights the urgent need for Congress to restore full Clean Water Act protections to our waters.

Clean Water Currents|Online, Summer 2009, Volume 37, No. 2

Legislation introduced in the United States Senate April 2 would restore critical Clean Water Act protections lost through six years of confusing and contradictory court and government agency decisions.

The Clean Water Restoration Act was introduced by Sen. Russell Feingold, D-WI, and several co-sponsors.