Frankly Green

Video: Waves and Tides Next Frontier for Energy Exploration

Kids Safe Chemical Act

Below is a note that my friend Greg T. sent to all his friends after attending the presentation by Ken Cook of the Environmental Working Group last night. Thanks Greg, not just for the great write-up, but for taking action!! And thanks to my friend Marie M. for organizing the event and to all the other co-hosts that made the event a huge success (over 300 people attended!)

There is also a great post on More Green Mom's.

Friends -

The Kid Safe Chemicals Act (KSCA), if passed, will overhaul the incredibly weak Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) of 1976.
Please call or write your senator or representative ASAP, and urge them to vote for the KSCA.

I saw a one hour version of this presentation tonight by Ken Cook.   The video is 20 minutes.  It is a must see, for all who care about our children, ourselves and the future of the human race.  Link to Video.

Here is a link to a newspaper article that summarizes the presentation that Ken has been giving all over the country since 2005.

There are now over 80,000 toxic chemicals in products that are strongly implicated in statistics such as:
-        40% increase in childhood brain cancer in the past 20 years
-        62% increase in childhood leukemia in past 20 years
-        Skyrocketing rates of infertility in women under 25
-        1 in 150 children with autism, and NO cases of severe autism in adults, because the chemicals                 causing autism are new
-        3.6% of children with asthma in 1980 and 9.8% of children with asthma in 2000
-        Huge increases in breast cancer, prostate cancer, birth defects, ADHD and on and on

In order to get a new drug approved (through FDA), it takes many years, animal studies, human studies, and many millions of dollars to prove the drug is safe and efficacious.  Even then, all drugs have side effects and some drugs are eventually taken off the market because of hazards that went undetected in 10 years and 10s or 100s of millions of dollars of testing.  In striking contrast, for new chemicals to be sold, there are no health and safety studies required and virtually no disclosures necessary for the chemical to be put on the market.  The entire approval process for a new chemical (through EPA) takes about 3 weeks.  A total of only 5 chemicals of the 80,000 have been severely restricted or banned using the law in the past 33 years.  Amazingly, the law was too weak to get asbestos removed from the market when the first President Bush attempted to do so.

Please call or write your congressional and senate representatives and urge them to pass the Kid Safe Chemicals Act.  And sign the Declaration. We can and must create a tidal wave of support for KSCA, to reverse the horrific wave of human damage caused by unregulated chemicals.

Greg

Video: Polar Bears Shrinking Habitat

Video: Front Fell Off (Humor)

A little humor from my friend Elicia V. about a mock interview with an Australian politician regarding an oil tanker off the coast of Australia that split in two, dumping 20,000 tons of crude oil.

Front Fell Off

An Animation of Water Bottle Recycling Rates

This is a sobering video: An Animation of Water Bottle Recycling Rates US consumption of bottled water reached 30 billion bottles per year in 2005! And only 12% were recycled!! See Bottled Water Waste for more.

What City Has the Highest Per-Capita Rates of Electric Vehicles in the World?

Kathmandu, Nepal.

Link to Video

Solar Powered Car

I recently made a post on a gentleman who made a solar powered car. Here is another one. Check out this video on a student-made solar powered car! If we could power all our cars and trucks with solar power we could reduce our oil consumption by about 60%. A pipe dream? Time will tell.

Interesting fact for the day: The total amount of energy that comes to earth from the sun each year is enough to provide more than 10,000 times the energy we use globally!!

Link to Video

Video: Food vs. Fuel

Is America's push for corn-based ethanol driving up fuel prices?

Link to Video

Video: Garbage Island

Check out this CNN.com video that profiles and island of trash in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. In this area of the Pacific, huge amounts of garbage have been accumulated by ocean currents. The garbage and plastic breaks down into smaller pieces, some of which are consumed by fish and other marine life which, in turn, is consumed by humans. Yes, we are eating our own garbage!!

Video: Hope To Action - Women With Solutions to Global Warming

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has. - Margaret Mead, U.S. anthropologist & popularizer of anthropology (1901 - 1978)

Link to Video

Check out this new video from Hope To Action. Hope to Action is a nationwide movement of women committed to building awareness of global warming and providing solutions for climate protection. The intent is to educate women and encourage them to take action to address the threat of climate change.

Hope to Action has three principal initiatives for women:

EcoSalon encourages women to build awareness and take action collectively to reduce their climate impact while saving money and having fun.  Practical resources and incentives are offered to encourage the spread of this “house party” program.

Influence America represents the unified voice of women for climate protection, providing thoughtful climate policy recommendations and an effective vehicle for women in the United States to weigh in on relevant state and federal legislation and take civic action.

Climate Action Kids showcases the nation's K-8 model environmental education programs and institutional practices, providing valuable resources and tools to support teachers, school administrators, students and parents committed to environmental literacy and stewardship.

For more information, visit the Hope to Action website. Become a member (It's free!) and start to make a difference!!