New England Currents|Online, Summer 2009

Clean Water Action's Zero Mercury Campaign has launched campaigns in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to require manufacturers to take responsibility for the collection and recycling of thermostats and light bulbs that contain mercury.

Everyone in New England is familiar with the old fashioned round thermostat used to control the temperature in our houses. Many people don't know that those thermostats contain 3 to 5 grams of mercury. Since a single gram of mercury is toxic enough to contaminate all of the fish in a 20-acre lake, that adds up to a significant source of pollution that needs to be controlled.

Our campaign has already been successful in both states in banning the sale of thermostats that contain mercury. However, thermostats can last in our homes for decades of use. Thermostats already in Rhode Island homes contain over 3,500 pounds of mercury and in Massachusetts, over 21,000 pounds!

Both Maine and Vermont have taken action to create incentives to safely replace mercury thermostats by passing a law to require thermostat manufacturers to pay $5 to homeowners, contractors, or others for each mercury thermostat they bring to the collection program.

Bringing similar collection programs to Massachusetts and Rhode Island will both help prevent mercury pollution when thermostats are thrown away and help promote energy efficiency. New programmable, digital thermostats can save up to 10% on heating and cooling costs. That's good for the environment and the household budget.

Many Clean Water Action members have already taken our other energy efficiency advice: to switch their home light bulbs to compact fluorescents (CFLs). CFLs are important for saving energy and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but they do contain small amounts of mercury and the spent lights must be carefully handled and recycled to prevent harm to people and our environment.

In Massachusetts, Clean Water Action is working to pass legislation that would require the CFL manufacturers to pay for the convenient collection and recycling of bulbs that contain mercury. The bill also requires the state to set standard for the amount of mercury allowed in light bulbs and to purchase lights that have the lowest possible mercury content while maximizing energy efficiency.

To get involved in the campaigns, contact Elizabeth Saunders in Boston or Sheila Dormody in Providence.

In this issue of New England Currents|Online:

More Shocking News on BPA
Last year it was lead, this year Bisphenol A (BPA) is the toxic chemical making news headlines and worrying parents. BPA is the building block of polycarbonate plastic and has been found to leach from many baby bottles and other products. BPA has been linked to obesity, early onset puberty, low sperm count, hyperactivity, depression and other health effects. Recently, two new studies have been released showing some more shocking exposure pathways and effects of BPA.

2009 New England Legislative Updates
Updates on legislation in the Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island state legislatures.

Mobilizing For Action in New Hampshire
In one of the most exciting election seasons in recent history, Clean Water Action's membership grew dramatically in New Hampshire as part of our drive to elect strong environmental leaders in the Granite State. To keep this great momentum going forward, we've launched the Civic Engagement Project with a goal to educate, engage and mobilize our 15,000 members in New Hampshire on key federal and state issues.

Clean Water Action Prevents Mercury Pollution and Promotes Energy Efficiency
Clean Water Action's Zero Mercury Campaign has launched campaigns in Rhode Island and Massachusetts to require manufacturers to take responsibility for the collection and recycling of thermostats and light bulbs that contain mercury.

Massachusetts' Green Revolution
Worried about the cost of heating your home? You're not alone. After the major spike in the price of oil to almost $150 per barrel last year, the Patrick administration in Massachusetts formed a Winter Heating Task Force to address the potential heating oil crisis facing families across the commonwealth. Clean Water Action testified at the Task Force hearing to stress the need for energy efficiency measures as a critical element to reducing energy use and costs to families.

Go Solar Connecticut
Connecticut homes, municipalities and businesses are being hurt by rising and unpredictable energy prices. As power prices rise, municipal budgets are further stretched, small businesses scramble to keep their lights on, and families struggle to pay their utility bills. An investment in rooftop solar is an investment in a fuel-free power source which produces power at a stable cost and creates jobs for a Connecticut-based solar industry.

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.

During the summer of 2008, Wylie joined a handful of protestors for a canoe and kayak trip down the LA River, earning the wrath of her employers and the attention of a nation. Why? At the time, Wylie was a biologist with the US Army Corps of Engineers. The agency had just declared the LA River as not navigable--a designation that put the watershed at risk and would have set a.dangerous precedent. Wylie and her compatriots were making their voyage to prove the Army Corps wrong. If their fleet could make the journey, they reasoned, then the LA River must be in-fact navigable, a critical first step in retaining Clean Water Act safeguards for the LA River system.

Restoring the Clean Water Act Must Top Congress' Agenda
Restoring the ability of the Clean Water Act to protect water resources must top Congress' water agenda. Supreme Court and agency decisions put at risk Clean Water Act protections for headwater, intermittent and ephemeral streams that supply drinking water systems that serve more than 110 million Americans. In total, 59 percent of the nation's waterways and millions of acres of wetlands are currently at risk.

What You Won't See In Those 'Clean Coal' Ads: Dirty Air, A Wall of Sludge, Poisoned Rivers
Surely you've seen the ads. They are scattered around the internet and splashed across our newspapers and magazines. Their commercials interrupt our favorite television shows and invade our local radio station's airspace. Yes, the ads are everywhere. But that doesn't make them true.

No PR campaign, no matter how well executed, can make coal clean. It's simply not possible.

Advocates for "clean" coal argue that technology exists-almost-that will allow coal-fired power plants to capture their carbon emissions and store the climate-changing gas deep under ground. Technically, this is true. Realistically, this would be extremely expensive, and wouldn't even begin to address most of the impacts felt by water. From mines to power plants, the process of wresting energy from coal is dirty and unhealthy for our waters, our communities and ourselves.

How Safe is Your Bath Tub?
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.

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