Our work to protect clean water across the country often makes the news. Clean Water Waves highlights recent articles featuring our staff speaking on their areas of activism and expertise.
California
Monterey County officials to consider banning single-use plastics
Dennis L Taylor | Monterey Herald | September 25th, 2023
A staff report prepared by the Monterey County Health Department, which will be the county agency enforcing the ban, if passed, lists stark facts about the environmental damage caused by single-use products. The Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is a sensitive marine habitat that is being heavily impacted by single-use plastics.
“Plastic waste is polluting the marine environment,” the staff report reads. “80% of marine litter comes from land-based sources, and according to the 2011 Clean Water Action Study, 67% of litter in commercial streets is comprised of single-use disposable food and beverage packaging.”
Pennsylvania
Nate File | The Philadelphia Inquirer | September 14th, 2023
Traditional green development projects sometimes have negative side effects for community members, like raising property values which displace longtime residents, or becoming a costly nuisance to maintain. RCSI’s project aims to mitigate some of those effects by working closely with community members to plan and execute greening that best fits their needs.
“There’s going to have to be a plan for how each [project is] going to happen and the people living in the community have to be engaged, or else they’re not going to happen,” said Maurice Sampson, the Eastern Pennsylvania director of Clean Water Action and one of the RCSI leaders.
“These neighborhoods are used to people coming in and talking about things they want to do and then going home after they are satisfied or leaving people adrift or not delivering at all. [They’re] used to that. So this process has been one where we’ve had to build a trust.”
New Jersey
Newark Community Leaders: NJ Activist Is 'Voice For The Voiceless'
Eric Kiefer | Patch.Com Community Corner | September 12th, 2023
“Kim Gaddy is an advocate and voice for the voiceless to ensure they have a seat at the table and meaningful participation in the discussions of what their neighborhoods, schools and businesses should look like to achieve environmental, social and economic justice. In addition, she fights to ensure people of color have access to clean air to breathe, safe and affordable drinking water which is a human birth right to live and thrive.”
Texas
‘It’s gross’: Houston police investigating company accused of dumping chemicals into drainage system
Rilwan Balogun | KPRC Click 2 Houston | September 21st, 2023
“It’s gross. It’s not just gross, it’s scary,” said Becky Smith, Texas Director for Clean Water Action. “Although these are allegations of pollution. The fact that the city of Houston and possibly the state of Texas have investigators who are looking to identify environmental crimes have gotten this far and are asking for the right to go in and inspect the facility tells me this is at a very serious level.”
Smith said the concern is the chemical is making its way to the city’s drainage system and not being properly treated.
“This always ends up in water,” Smith said. “When it flows downstream no matter what kind of treatment it does or does not get. So, if it goes to our sewer, it gets treated like wastewater. There are processes for that, but this is not what, the systems are not created to treat these chemicals.”
In Our Own Words: Michigan
Transition to EVs should be good for climate AND unions
Michigan Legislative & Policy Director Sean McBrearty with Christy McGillivray, Political & Legislative director for the Michigan Sierra Club
September 13th, 2023 in Bridge Michigan:
If Michigan wants to thrive in the 21st Century we need a new model. Building a real clean energy economy means demanding corporate accountability for human and ecological impacts of production — and that starts by protecting and supporting workers with good union contracts.
In Our Own Words: Rhode Island
Study shows shocking amount of microplastics in Bay. Here's what we can do to help
Rhode Island State Director Jed Thorp with Mike Jarbeau, Narragansett Baykeeper for Save The Bay
September 23rd, 2023 in The Providence Journal:
With plastic pollution continuing to pile up in our storm drains, our rivers and the Bay, it’s time to get serious about solutions and put proven systems in place that will make a real and measurable difference.
