The weeks bookending the July 4 weekend had several notable green stories.
In Washington, despite attacks from members of Congress, the Environmental Protection Agency finalized a Clean Air Act rule aimed at reducing air pollution from coal-fired power plants that causes smog, acid rain, and ozone pollution. (Check out The Daily Green's 5 air pollution facts and myths to see how air pollution affects you.) Meanwhile, the Obama Administration is looking to tighten fuel economy standards, and environmentalists are asking for European-grade standards in the range of 60 mpg by 2025; the auto industry is asking for standards that are considerably less stringent. (See The Daily Green's list of most fuel-efficient cars, and Good Housekeeping's fuel-efficient car test drive.)
In weird weather news, wildfires raged through the drought-plagued Southwest and flooding continued in the Midwest; the government warned that deluge could produce more damage than the worst flooding in modern times, the Great Flood of 1993.
Is this what climate change hath wrought? The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration did add half a degree to its definition of "normal" U.S. temperatures, based on increasing temperatures in the past 30 years. While it's impossible to tie specific weather phenomenon to larger changes in the climate, intense and frequent wildfires, and severe flooding are both high on the list of expected changes due to global warming. (Chart: NOAA)
And, of course, there was yet another oil spill, this one in the Yellowstone River when an Exxon-Mobil pipeline burst. Coupled with high oil prices, it prompted new calls for restrictions on domestic drilling and renewed efforts to boost oil independence.
In consumer green news, though, these are the stories that captured our attention:
The cosmetics industry is joining watchdogs and government in warning about the risks of Brazilian Blowout-type hair straighteners, citing concerns that they expose salon workers and salon goers to formaldehyde, a known carcinogen. The Good Housekeeping Research Institute recently investigated keratin hair treatments like these.
The Safe Cosmetics Act was introduced in Congress. Designed to update the way the Food and Drug Administration approves the use of ingredients in makeup and personal care products. Presumably, such a law might have kept formaldehyde out of hair straighteners in the first place.
Environmental Working Group updated its list of recommended sunscreens; the list includes sunscreens that shun ingredients the watchdog group considers risky, even if they've met FDA approval. In turn, The Daily Green updated its list of the most affordable natural sunscreens on the market. (Photo: iStock)
The National Parks Conservation Association released the results of a 10-year-study outlining a range of threats to U.S. national parks, ranging from development of adjacent lands and the introduction of invasive alien species to climate change and funding shortfalls.
The Natural Resources Defense Council released its annual report about the state of the nation's beaches. While the EPA reports that 95% of beaches were open in 2010, the NRDC highlights the flip side of the equation, noting that pollution prompted 24,000 beach closings and swimming advisories that year. To find out if your beach is safe, see if it's on NRDC's list, and ask these questions about water quality testing before entering the water. (Video: NRDC)
There were several developments in sustainable (and not-so-sustainable) seafood. Most notably for consumers, watchdogs groups have petitioned the FDA, asking it to require fish markets and grocery stores to post advisories about mercury in fish. If children are exposed to mercury early in life, including in the womb, they can suffer permanent brain damage.
A first-of-its-kind assessment of tuna and related species found that five of eight species are considered threatened or "near threatened" with extinction, primarily because of overfishing.
The U.S. government set heavily criticized new catch limits for bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico, and is being called on to change the rules for shrimp trawlers there, because sea turtles are killed inadvertently by shrimpers. (Photo: Bluefin tuna, by NOAA)
In brighter seafood news, Chile, the Bahamas and Honduras reacted to worldwide declines in shark species by banning shark fishing or shark finning, the practice of catching sharks, stripping them of their fins for soup (an Asian delicacy), and then disposing of the bodies.
To steer clear of seafood that's being overfished, or that may be contaminated with mercury, use Environmental Defense Fund's Seafood Selector.