Category Archives: Health

Crowd-sourcing stirs up fresh ideas for recycling TVs and monitors

Can our old TVs and computer monitors, which are filled with toxic substances, be safely and profitably recycled into new products?  We don’t know, but with tens of millions units expected to hit the waste stream over the next few years as households upgrade to newer flat panel models, we need to find out. And [...]

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That's All Folks! Eco-Challenge Submissions Close

It is an exciting time for the Eco Challenge Series, the partnership between Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and open innovation company InnoCentive.  With our first two challenges closed, we are on the verge of awarding our first prizes for eco-innovation. EDF put up two prizes to solve pressing environmental challenges in agriculture and we’re working [...]

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Sustainable Shopping: On the right track with GoodGuide

By Lillias MacIntyre, Program Associate, Corporate Partnerships OK – so you’re part of the ever increasing group of environmentally conscious global citizens trying to make a difference.  I’m sure you’ve found yourself browsing a retailer’s shelves or clicking through Amazon.com in search of a product more sustainable than the one sitting on your shelf at [...]

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We have a problem. Can you solve it?

Nitrogen pollution is a significant issue facing the environment: Across the U.S. and many parts of the world, large scale farming operations are applying excessive amounts of fertilizers and the unprecedented excess of nitrogen resulting from these farming practices contributes to coastal dead zones, impaired drinking water supplies, degraded fisheries and recreational areas, and risks [...]

Also posted in Eco-Challenge Series, Events & Activities, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, Innovation Exchange, Safe Products, Tools | 2 Comments

Using Open Innovation To Bring The Gulf Of Mexico Dead Zone Back To Life

I don't live on a farm, or anywhere near one. So I know that my mental picture of a farmer–a guy wearing overalls, driving a tractor and consulting the Farmer's Almanac for advice–is right out of the 1950s. Today's farmers are plugged in, tech-savvy, and globally connected. The Iowa Soybean Association has teamed up with [...]

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New Collaborative Efforts to Help Clean Up Port Pollution

By: Elena Craft, Air Quality Specialist, Climate & Air Program, EDF Today’s press conference in Charleston, S.C., marked another successful milestone toward reducing trucking emissions and improving local health in and around our nation’s ports. Together with the Coalition for Responsible Transportation, Environmental Defense Fund and the Port of Charleston announced an agreement today to [...]

Also posted in Education, Fleet Vehicles, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Innovation, News Commentary | Leave a comment

Power Company Trades Your Jobs And Our Health For Its Profits

Over a decade ago, EPA began developing new regulations to cut dangerous pollution from power plant smokestacks. These plants churn out most of the mercury, acid gas and arsenic pollution in our air, and the new rules will dramatically slash this pollution, saving up to 17,000 lives and preventing 120,000 asthma attacks each year. Most [...]

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INVITATION: Forum on Safer Chemicals in Products

Join leaders from businesses, environmental organizations and governments for a one-day, in-depth forum on safer chemicals in products. Learn how leading businesses are moving to safer chemicals in products and hear NGO perspectives on policies that can support that movement. Register at: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/1655741367 Invitation to the 2nd Annual Business and NGO Policy Forum Safer Chemicals [...]

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Data and safety requirements for new chemicals: China blows past the US

By: Richard Denison, Ph.D., Senior Scientist, Health Program, EDF In yesterday’s post, I pointed to a number of ways in which China is taking a proactive stance on chemical safety.  I cited China because the U.S. chemical industry, when saber-rattling about what it regards as overly onerous proposals for TSCA reform, loves to chide all [...]

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