The Alaskan Alutiiq, an indigenous tribe residing on the Alaskan coast, has long relied on shellfish for food. Recent instances have found that some shellfish has become contaminated by a natural occurring poison that can lead to paralytic shellfish poisoning. This reactive condition could become more frequent as water temperatures rise and toxin production increases. Read More.
Category: News Archive
An Air Pollution Pandemic
While the world is increasing its concern for the COVID-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic, scientists have stated that another pandemic has been plaguing the world for years. The European Society of Cardiology has released a report claiming that air pollution is the cause of an underlying pandemic that causes cardiovascular and respiratory diseases and on average 5.5 million premature deaths a year. Read More.
Researchers from Carnegie Mellon University, Princeton University and Stanford University released a comprehensive study on the impacts of fracking in the Appalachian Basin. The study focused on premature deaths in relation to air quality, regional climate changes and employment opportunities from industry expansion. Read More.
In honor of Women’s History Month, NextAvenue highlights the incredible work of Lois Gibbs and Linda Garcia. Both women have won the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize for their work against environmental injustices. Although their fights are decades apart, the work at Love Canal and against the Tesoro Savage oil company demonstrate how environmental activism is still as important today as was in 1978. Read More.
Hunters in the United States commonly use lead based ammunition that can cause lead contamination in meat. Hunters have expressed that they are either unaware of these concerns or are mistrustful of the sources that have presented the research. In either case, public health officials are seeking a line of open communication to warn hunters and their families about the dangers of lead consumption. Read More.
Schools in New Hanover and Brunswick counties in North Carolina have set plans in motion to install a new water filtration system to protect school drinking water from industrial contamination. The plan comes after Brunswick county was determined to have the highest levels of PFAS water contamination in the country. Actor Mark Ruffalo, among others, spoke at a press conference at the North Carolina Legislative Building in Raleigh explaining that more needed to be done to address the water contamination problem and the health of children in schools. Read More.
Fundraising Workshop Training Materials
Check out our resource material on how to fundraise effectively for your organization. The following information was compiled and used at a fundraising workshop with the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League.
Fundraising Workshop Training Packet
Fundraising Workshop Audio Recording
In continuance with its action plan to regulate forever chemicals, including PFAS, the EPA has announced that it will be conduction criminal investigations against the cancer linked chemicals. The EPA has not elaborated on exactly who or what it will be investigating; however, some companies have released that they might be under investigation. Read More.
Although the EPA has voiced that matters concerning PFAS, a “forever” chemical, will continue to be a priority in 2020, over half the states in the country have decided to encourage their own regulations. Some states have preexisting rules preventing them from enforcing stricter water regulations above those set by the EPA. Other states, including Michigan and New York have surged forward to set stricter regulations and encourage more contamination cleanup efforts. Read More.
The Trump Administration has worked to rollback almost all industry regulations enacted during the Obama Administration to demonstrate how government should not have role in determining how and what a facility can emit. As the EPA organizes to debunk the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) that sets a limit the release of mercury, the industry sector has spoken up in opposition. Industry officials have stated that there is no need to rollback a regulation that industries have already worked to comply with and that could deregulation could lead to more harm than good. Read More.