The Blue Voice

«Home | Next: The Almost Ban on Torture, and the Exceptions to t...»

Friday, January 20, 2006

Flotsam and Jetsam

As a post script to my previous entries on the problem of recycling computers and other electronics, here is a link to good news from the state of Maine: New Law Forces Manufacturers to Pick up Recycling Costs. This will be the first law in the nation to force manufacturers to pay the cost of sending electronics to recycling centers where toxic materials such as lead and mercury are removed. There are also different laws on e-waste recycling in CA and MD, and other states are in the planning stages. Fifty-two different sets of laws will lead to confusion and many easily foreseeable problems. It's absolutely something that needs to be addressed on a national level with federal laws that will apply equally every where.

Seven former heads of the EPA were in attendance at an Environmental Protection Agency symposium commemorating the agency's 35th anniversary, and five of them took the opportunity to criticize this administration's stand on global warming. (Thank you, Amber, for the tip on this.)

From Earthjustice, an article by Cat Lazaroff, the organization's policy press secretary, exploring the past year's legislation as it affects the environment: View from The Hill: Dodging Bullets as the Year Ends. She's happy over successes in keeping the ANWR safe from oil exploration, but says:

We’ll need all the energy we can get this year to face down attempts to gut the Endangered Species Act and the National Environmental Policy Act, two of the bedrock laws that allow Americans to protect public health, wildlife, and wild places.

So, why not start on this battle right now? From US PIRG:

The fate of our most valued wildlife and endangered species, including the bald eagle, Florida manatee, and grizzly bear is now in the hands of the U.S. Senate. As Congress returns to session in the coming weeks, big developers and other powerful interests are working with their allies in the U.S. Senate to weaken and dismantle one of our most successful and effective environmental laws -- the Endangered Species Act.

PIRG is asking us to visit this site, and sign letters to our Senators asking them to preserve the ESA intact, and to protect our wildlife from those powerful interests. You may have already done this elsewhere, but there's no harm in doing it over and over and over again. The more Congress members hear from constituents the more they listen.

And finally, from Grist Magazine, that invaluable online resource for all matters environmental, this interview (Spencer for Tire) with Kipchoge Spencer of Xtracycle and Worldbike. I discovered Xtracycle and Worldbike last fall, and wrote about it then. So it's a real kick to meet one of the people responsible for this great company. Spencer is a very cool guy, not only a true environmentalist but the lead singer of a group called The Ginger Ninjas, who have a single called "Dick Cheney." Wanna see the music video for this. Very badly.

My favorite Q and A from the interview is here:

Q -What's one thing the environmental movement is doing badly, and how could it be done better?

A- We're too scared to throw out the bathwater and the baby -- too eager to replace consumption with green consumption, as if Hummers are the problem and the Prius is the cure.

posted at 7:17:00 PM by marigolds2

| +Save/Share | |