August 20, 2010
EPA Wants Your Dirty Water Comments
written by Steven Barrymore

EPA steps outside the box. Or in this case, the watering hole. The EPA has launched a discussion forum blog to solicit comments on how best to protect America’s drinking water supply. The blog contains 4 separate topics for comments.

1. Addressing contaminants as a groups [sic] and better enhance drinking water protection in a cost-effective manner.
2. Fostering development of new drinking water technologies to address health risks posed by a broad array of contaminants.
3. Using the authority of multiple statutes to help protect drinking water.
4. Collaborating with states to share more complete data from monitoring at public water systems (PWS).

If you are an interested water expert, advocate or just part of the general water-drinking public, you can chime in on any of these topics. But do so before these discussion topics are closed. The EPA is leaving these topics open for about one month – they did not mention if the one month deadline is from the Aug 17 EPA website news release or one month from when the blog topics were posted (July 29). So, get comfy with a nice big glass of (filtered) water and blog away — your government needs you.


Link: EPA

July 24, 2010
Get Rid of Your Used Batteries By Oct 1, 2010
written by Steven Barrymore

Have you been throwing used batteries in the trash? This is bad for the environment and may be illegal. California Department of Toxic Substances Control has a Universal Waste rule banning batteries from being thrown in the trash and must be disposed of at an appropriate recycling center.

Call2Recycle has a challenge in place for all North Americans – Recycle (one) 1 million pounds of batteries by Oct 1, 2010. Call2Recyle is encouraging the drop-off of used rechargeable batteries and cell phones for their program at any of Call2Recycle’s 30,000 public drop-off locations.

A million pounds is not that much. I probably have a two pound bag of batteries headed to a recycling center, and I am only one person. What are the other 300 million Americans doing with their used batteries?

All used rechargeable and regular batteries Single Use Batteries, AAA, AA, C, D, button cell, 9-volt, you may have lying around from TV remotes, digital cameras, battery operated toys need to be recycled at any appropriate recycling center. These batteries contain Cadmium, Copper and in some older batteries, Mercury. Not stuff I want to find leaching into my drinking water.

For a list of recycling centers near you. Go online at Earth911, and enter your zip code for a list of available resources.

What inspires you to recycle? Create a video and enter at MyCall2Recycle for a chance to win cutting-edge wireless gadgets. I was hoping for something that did not need batteries, like a pony, or free groceries for a month — but, cutting-edge wireless gadgets are cool too.


Via: TreeHugger

Image Courtesy: Call2Recycle

From possible issues and events.  Keep the corporations and government aware of our need for clean water and resources.  Unpolluted oceans, beaches, marshlands are vital to our well being.  Stamp out the mess with this in-style postage.  Add to the solution and not the pollution.


Get it here:
We All Live Downstream – postage stamps