Being an activist, as you know well, is not always particularly satisfying. You read about a lot of crappy things that crappy people do. You repeat the same information to the same decision makers hoping that this will be the time they really listen. And sometimes you have a victory. And on very very rare occasions you have two in one month.

I told you about Target. And now I'm really excited to tell you about Sears and Kmart. Sears Holdings, the company that owns Sears and Kmart, has committed to phasing out PVC in their products and packaging. Sears Holdings is the nation's sixth largest retailer with over $50 billion in sales per year and approximaterly 3,800 stores. 

Center for Health, Environment and Justice has been running a super successful PVC campaign getting companies to eliminate PVC. This means that 3 out of the 6 biggest retailer stores are in the process of phasing out PVC. How's that for progress? Maybe these big wigs are finally starting to understand that we all really do care about the chemicals that are in the things we bring into our homes.

You can check out their website and see what the entire policy is, but I'll give you some highlights:

- identify safer, more sustainable and cost-effective alternatives to PVC

- show preference to PVC free materials

- encourage vendors to reduce or eliminate PVC from their products and packaging

 

Pretty good. Now we need the rest of them to phase out PVC as well as brominated flame retardants. And remember they listen to people who buy their stuff.
 

Have a good week. I'm back on the east coast on Friday. I heard it snowed over there. That does not make me happy even if it is December.

Renee  

 

 . . .  which is what it should be doing.

Articles galore, supporter feedback. Some good discussions have been coming out of the latest Guide to Greener Electronics. Our international co-worker Tom put up a blog today that I thought was pretty interesting. He talked about a number of the discussions we've seen in the past several days.

Check it out here.  

Renee 

P.S: I only have two weeks left on the west coast. I'm starting to miss California already!

 

When we debuted our Guide for Greener Electronics, we started the discussion with needing cleaner and greener cell phones and laptops in our homes and pockets. Last week we introduced the need for the gifts we give to video game lovers to be cleaner and greener too. But I want to take a moment to highlight that that is not the end of greening the electronics industry. It doesn't stop with what we purchase.

Our world is getting smaller, we know this not only from our nation's more recent immigration, trade agreement, and climate change discussions, but also from the toxic toy story's that have saturated our tv's and newspapers the past few months. I'll be the first to admit that it's sometimes hard to put ourselves in the shoes of others whose lives we can barely even image. But it is because the world is getting smaller that we need to.

Listen, I'm no hippy. I'm a somewhat odd mix to the environmental justice movement. I like shopping, makeup, and late nights out with my friends. Being an environmentalist can be difficult sometimes. There are many issues that effect every aspect of your life, of your routines. I understand the world is not black and white. There are many grey areas that sometimes keep us from being the very best that we can. But it is our duty to try and to do better when we know better. And that is why we publish these guides, talk to the companies, and explain everything we find out and know to people like you. The people who buy these products and the people who want to be making informed decisions.

The hidden story of the electronics industry are the environmental impacts of the complete life cycle. Such as . . .

- The manufacturing process where the companies chose what chemicals went into the laptop that I am using right now. If you would like to know what they are read the report we released a couple weeks ago on just that subject. We found out through taking apart many different laptops that it is possible to produce a more environmentally friendly one.

- The consequences of what is leached from our computers into our homes, offices, and coffee shops. BFR's (brominated flame retardants) are additives to our products and so they leach out and become part of our dust and find themselves cozy little spaces to bio-accumulate in our bodies. Check out this recent report and interesting website. 35 people were tested and found that yes BFR's have settled in our bodies.

- The people who break these products apart on open flames, unprotected in the e-waste landfills of developing nations.

The good news is that all the companies we talk to know this. And so they should be doing better.  . . . because they know better.  

There are many organizations around the world working on ending the devastating toxic waste trade between developed and developing nations.  And so as much as I love(d) my mac (it was totally stolen Oct 1) it is difficult to not think about where it came from, what it is doing, and where it will eventually end up without thinking about all of the people and places that are effected by each segment of that computer's life.

Besides looking through our webpages, check out two of the organizations that are working with us.

Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition

Basel Action Network 

 

Holla from Cali,

Renee  

Opps we did it again. We just released our 6th Greener Electronics Guide and this time we've expanded! We've include game consoles and TVs.

Remember how this goes?

We rank companies on their policies and practices on toxic chemicals and takeback. The main point to why we do this each quarter is that as electronic products become more often than not disposable products, companies need to look more closely at the life cycle of their products. Toxic chemicals in means toxic chemicals out. And most of the time those toxic chemicals are being released into your home, and the land, water, and bodies of the people who 'recycle' them in the developing world. And you don't have to be a genius or a CEO of some mega corporation to realize that  . . . well, that's just crap.

You can read the guide here. But I'll give you a sneak preview.

Nintendo got a zero. I mean a zero, boys and girls. I'll admit we are tough critics, but we've never given a zero before.  Microsoft scored a 2.7 and Philips did ummm not too well with a 2.

People are always asking what's with scoring them based on their policies and practices, basically what they tell us. Don't worry folks, we are all good follow up-ers here at Greenpeace and we are making sure they stick to their promises. But the bottom line is that companies should be transparent. They should be telling their customers what it is in their products and they should make them safe and toxic free.

So this is it. One step closer to greening the electronic industry.

Take Care,

Renee  

 

Seattle is awesome and it totally doesn't rain everyday. It hasn't rained once. It's super cold, but not rainy.

Yesterday we went to Pike Market and snacked on cheese and lattes most of the afternoon. There is a crumpet shop. Who knew what a crumpet was? Well . . . a lot of people, but I wasn't one of them until we walked up 1st and Pike.

I'm here in Seattle visiting an old friend Liz. She is 5 months pregnant and just married. So weird. When did people start doing that?

Sometimes I feel Liz is way more environmentally aware than I am. She makes her own cleaning products and recycles in ways I still don't understand. When the baby comes she is going to make her own food and use cloth diapers. And with the news reports every other week or so on new toxic chemicals found in toys, she is growing concerned with what she is bringing into the house.

But the reality is the everyday items we use in our homes have toxins as well. One of the most dangerous chemicals that has been getting attention on a state level across the nation are brominated flame retardants. I also mentioned those when I was in San Jose traveling around with that giant skull made out of e-waste.

Warning: ridiculously long words ahead 

Brominated flame retardants (BFRs) have many subsets, including polybrominated diphenyl ethers or PBDEs. There are three common commerical types, but two have been voluntarily phased out due to health and environmental concerns. The one that is still in use is called deca-bde. It exists in an ungodly number of home items. Including your tvs, couches and mattresses. One of the reasons it is so horrible is because it is an additive and leaks out of whatever product it is in. That's why the dust in our homes is so full of chemicals. It's also why you shouldn't carry around those plastic reusable water bottles.

States have started recognizing the dangers of BFRs. Maine's ban on deca-BDE goes into effect at the end of the year. One thing Liz can feel safe about is that Washington state has also passed a ban on deca. A number of other states are also debating the same type of legislation. You should know about it. Do a quick search on your state and deca ban. See what you find out. With all this talk on gross chemicals in our homes, knowing that there are people in your communities working to end it is pretty comforting.

Happy Saturday.

Renee  

 

Hi Everyone,

So I'm sure you are busy with your holiday plans. Maybe baking a little pumpkin pie? I've moved out to the west coast for a few weeks. I'm visiting a friend who just got married and is now 5 months pregnant. I'm reaching that age where friends are doing things like that now. Liz and I met when we were 14. And as I think back through all those years, I never thought either one of us would end up where we currently are. She in Seattle with her husband (I mean her kid won't even be a Floridian!!) and me at Greenpeace talking about superfund sites. The good news is we both feel right at home and are pretty darn happy.

So . . . I wanted to mention this website I just found about superfund sites. In case you didn't know they are disgusting and a huge problem for communities. Its pretty interesting to find out who the top 25 polluters are, though I'm not that surprised -- Dow and Exxon anyone?

Right now it talks mostly about places on the east coast, but places in Texas, Louisiana, and California are taking a toll on its residents too. In fact here is a list of sites in Louisiana. I just did a quick google search on Lafayette, Louisiana where I was born and where most of my family continues to live. I found 10. Broussard, Louisiana a city that has one stop light and about 10 relatives - has one. 

Anyways, just thought you might be interested in learning more. Check out the site and do a quick search of your town. 

 

Take care, Renee  

I always wake up to NPR and sometimes I have a hard time telling if what I am hearing is a dream or reality, especially with the current state of our nation. This morning I heard two things that kept me guessing.

(1) Our national debt hit a record high -- $7 Trillion. I just kept picturing little kids making up numbers . . . . I have 7 gazillionbillionmilliontrillion dollars. Its like  . .  what?!? . ... . .. We owe who what?

(2) Children toys contain the date rape drug GHB.  

 

Is it safe to get out of bed yet?

Renee  

I'm not sure how many of you have heard, but Target has been, um, targeted by dozens of environmental organizations over the past year to eliminate PVC from their product lines. And on Monday they announced that they be eliminating the amount of PVC, also known as vinyl, in their own products including infant toys, shower curtains, and fashion accessories. They also announced that they will begin collaborating with their vendors whose products are sold in their store in order to do the same. Just to give you a better understanding of what a large victory this is let me tell you that Target is the 5th largest retailer in the country with $59 billion in revenues.

In a world where doll manufactures are almost weekly recalling their products because they contain banned chemicals, this step shows that companies are listening to us. They are hearing that consumers want toxic free products. That they are demanding it. This victory and several like it tells the story of a world that is changing. Companies are beginning to take on the series threats that are facing our world and how their actions are contributing.

An International Herald Tribune article came out yesterday explaining how companies are starting to ask questions of their entire supply chain. The article even provides a quote from an executive saying that "if you are going to make a real difference, you have to let go of your corporate ego". Wow! Can you believe that statement? The world really is changing. They are listening and they are paying attention to us.

But it's easy to start letting up the pressure when you hear statements like that. This is not the time to stop demanding a toxic free future. This is the time to step it up. Remember the chemical industry spent almost $10 million more on lobbying Homeland Security to not protect us from chemical threats than the department spent on actually protecting us.

If you want to know more about the Target victory, read this.  

 Thank you Center for Health, Environment, and Justice to leading this campaign and the dozens and dozens of local and national groups for keeping up the pressure and creating a system where corporations are starting to take responsibility for their actions.

--Renee  

I am a long time Burma activist. I have spent some of each year for the past 7 years on the Thai-Burma border working with former political prisoners, refugees, migrant workers, doctors, lawyers, students, and 20-something backpackers for the freedom of the Burmese people. This issue, the freedom of a people, is not just a human rights issue, it is an environmental justice issue. Greenpeace, many years ago, worked on forest issues within Burma. It seems that American companies are very happy to make shady corrupt deals with the Burmese regime. If you do not know what is happening inside Burma right now, please check this out.

But what I really want to talk about this Monday morning, is how repressing human rights magnifies environmental degradation. Looking at the situation inside Burma is the easiest way to talk about this issue, though there are several cases within the United States where this also exists. Love Canal, Hurricane Katrina, superfund sites around Los Angeles, CA, refineries in Convent, LA, and chemical waste landfills in Port Author, TX --- to name just a few.

As many communities around the United States have seen, illegal dumping and irresponsible management of toxic substances leads to water and land pollution and the poisoning of our families and loved ones. One way to better understand the situation within Burma is by picturing the Love Canal and then adding child soldiers, slavery, and ethnic cleansing.

This weekend a couple friends and I spent an amazingly beautiful Washington DC early Fall afternoon walking around the city. As we were walking through downtown we saw about 100 birds flying in circles above a small round-about park in formation. We started discussing the simple complexities of eco-systems. We shared knowledge on how schools of fish react to predators and how bats understand community. We talked and talked and what we were really saying was that we are all connected. Everything we do effects the lives of people and animals and the giant complex eco-systems around us. A government can not suppress a persons freedom of speech without it directly relating to the way that government regulates toxic chemicals or the way that government turns a blind eye when foreign companies mismanage their waste systems within their country.

Supporting the Saffron Revolution is just one way to support the environmental justice activists within our own country. And what we are all doing by taking cyberactions, reading up on what is being done about the blown over oil rigs in the Gulf of Mexico, and better understanding the connection between building pipelines and child slavery inside Burma is realizing Aung San Suu Kyi's words, " Please use your liberty to promote ours."

Renee 

 

 

I forgot to say that there will be two hearings this week on the lead in toys story.

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 19, 2007

Protecting Children from Lead-Tainted Imports (Day 1)
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Hearing
10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building
Connect to the Video Webcast (100 kbps)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 20, 2007

Protecting Children from Lead-Tainted Imports (Day 2)
Subcommittee on Commerce, Trade, and Consumer Protection Hearing
9:30 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building
Connect to the Video Webcast (100 kbps)

 

Renee. 

This lead in toys story will not go away. And it turns out its been going for like 10 years.

In 1996 Greenpeace published a report titled: Lead and Cadmium in Vinyl Children's Products. So we don't have the same PR cache for simple headlines as People magazine, but hey at least you know what it's about.  I'll summarize the summary for you.

 . . . or just write it out," A Greenpeace investigation revealed the presence of hazardours levels of lead and cadmium in a variety of vinyl consumer products, including items specifically designed and marketed for children. The study was spurred by the discovery of hazardous lead levels in vinyl blinds and associated lead poisoning of children in 1996. Since no government agency appeared to be investigating whether other vinyl consumer products might also pose a similar health risk, Greenpeace initiated a nationwide study of vinyl products." 

Here are some of the findings of our investigation:

• Lead- and cadmium-containing vinyl products are readily available from some of the nation's leading retailers, including Kmart, Wal-Mart, Target, and Toys R Us.
  
• Children are a marketing target. Products featured Barbie, Minnie and Mickey Mouse, 101 Dalmations, Michael Jordan, Bugs Bunny, and various other Looney Tunes characters.
  
• Lead -containing vinyl products are common. The investigation began by testing vinyl children's products purchased in Chicago. Twenty-one percent of the vinyl consumer prodcuts examined contained greater than 100 parts-per-million lead (28 out of 131). Since all of the items were purchased at national chain stores, this high percentage may reflect the US frequency for lead-containing vinyl products.
  
• Lead- and cadmium-containing vinyl products are widely available in California, despite its stringent regulation fo carcinogens and reproductive toxins. A representative sample of items grossly exceeded limits for exposure to lead and cadmium set by the Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, also known as Proposition 65.
  
• Both lead and cadmium are readily available for ingestion by children. Lead and cadmium were released to the surfaces of products as they aged. Lead also became available under conditions that mimic swallowing.
  

And just in case you're thinking well of course it's not the same exact products, think again . . . a Barbie accessory tent pole was one of the products found to have high levels of lead. One product Matell is currently recalling  ---- Barbie accessories  . . alright I'll give this one to them the lead paint is on the dog and cat accessories, not tent poles. My mistake.

What the hell is going on? Why are families suffering today from a problem that was highlighted to this industry 10 years ago? What's wrong with these people? And why are these people completely satisfied with sacrificing children's lives for money? Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my head around these things. Maybe they just do this stuff because they can.

 
Renee. 

 

Social Entrepreneurship is one of the most interesting part of the environmental movement for me. It allows people to be creative, powerful, and smart all while taking the health of their economy and society into their own hands. Environmentalists are often hammered with arguments that our stance on issues do not mesh with free enterprise, that we want regulation where if people left to their own devises will create fairer ways of doing business and therefore providing a more fair society. I think this is a complicated issue I'll admit I am not prepared to really tackle right now for several reasons. One because I just finished three days of training in Amsterdam with my international Greenpeace colleagues and don't have the energy. (I'm still in Amsterdam -- if you haven't been, take a look at any postcard of the city, that is exactly how it looks - I swear - it's incredible) Two because it is usually being spouted by executives who are trying to get away with poisoning neighborhoods that they don't have to live in and care nothing about and sometimes these people are just not worth replying to because everyone sees straight through them.

So briefly I'll say, I do think that people are creative enough to come up with businesses that are good for our communities, bodies, and land. I also think that organizations like Greenpeace are important to this system because we have the ability and knowledge to highlight when business is NOT doing this. When they are pumping obscene amounts of money into shady political campaigns and helping to write bad legislation. It is when business and society work together through a transparent relationship that the free market is able to truly benefit us all. In order for this to happen, we all need to keep up the pressure. Even though people are good, they often times need to be reminded how to do good.

On Monday Sept 10, Anita Roddick passed away. She is the founder of The Body Shop. A body health care shop that focused not only on looking, smelling and feeling good, but on making sure that our decisions do not harm the communities, bodies, and land around us. She participated in the WTO protests in Seattle, she spoke around the world on how business can and has the obligation to be environmentally responsible, and she wrote an amazing book that has inspired countless entrepreneurs to create businesses that make money and take responsibility for leaving this land in better condition than when we found it.

So . . cheers to one great environmentalist, woman, and business leader!

Take care, Renee.

I moved to Washington DC the semester I graduated college. I thought I would work in some big hot shot international development organization and make full use of my new International Relations degree. Well, things don't always turn out as planned. Instead I waited a whole bunch of tables, met and then eventually dated a number of bartenders, and five years later am still friends with the dude that walks around holding a newspaper (some people call him Everywhere Man, but his name is Mark). He always asked me how the people of Lafayette Louisiana are doing.

He remembers the time I told him I was born in Lafayette. I was born on a bayou. Yes, I do have several versions of that song on my ipod.  It's a good song! Mark always seems to pop out at odd moments when I had just forgotten that I was indeed born on a bayou.

I didn't realize when I applied to work at Greenpeace, that the organization had a deep history in Louisiana. I didn't realize that the people who work here felt connected to this place. It's one of the things I love most about the Greenpeace, it's interesting history and people.

Last week, NPR played a series of stories of DC natives visiting New Orleans, some deciding to move there and some raising awareness of what is still happening in the area by coming back to the district and telling anyone who will listen. I'm starting feel like Katrina is my generation's Kennedy assassination. We all remember where we were when the levees broke, when we saw the images of the Super Dome, when we heard the rumors of violence, when we saw Anderson Cooper wade in the water.

I'm not sure if everyone at this point feels oversatutrated by these images, the mainstream media (if you've noticed) seems to prey on our heartstrings with horrific images without providing any suggestions on action we can take.

So I guess . . .  what I want to do with this entry is introduce you to a few things in New Orleans that you might not know. Things don't always go as planned and if you find yourself wanting to take action to help New Orleans maybe these resources will help guide your kind efforts.

WWOZ - The best radio station on this planet (Not sure about the other ones). I know I recently rented a car that had satelite radio. This is better. And you get to hear Cajun accents all day! I mean really what more could you want during the work day?! I often spend the day reading about how CFO's of large corporations say going green is too expensive and try to make others believe that consumers think destroying ancient forests is just fine for their soft toilet paper, while listening to this amazing station online.

New Orleans Habitat for Humanity-  After moving from Lafayette to South Florida, I realized I am destined to live wherever hurricanes hit. Hurricane Andrew hit South Florida not long after my family moved. South Miami was devasted and similarly to what happened during Katrina most of the houses that withstood both hurricanes were made by volunteers at Habitat for Humanity. Look it up. It's true. Last Thanksgiving I visited Shylia Lewis and her family, GP staff helped build her a toxic free house in 2004 and we wanted to see how she was doing. During the day that I spent with Shylia and her children, we talked about why her house had survived Katrina when others had not. She said that Habitat houses survived because they were made out love. I think my heart stopped that very moment. It may just be that volunteers get nervous about not putting enough nails so there are about double the amount, but that doesn't mean she isn't right. Those houses are made out of love.

I guess this is a long paragraph to say, if you are planning a long weekend why not use it to volunteer at Habitat in New Orleans.

Louisiana Bucket Brigade-  Ever heard of grassroots organizing? This is it. The people who founded this organization were sick (literally) and tired of government agencies like the EPA standing behind big corporations instead of the communities they are suppose to protect and gave power back to the people to defend their homes and their families. This very small organization (3 full time staff people) teach community members how to test the air quality of their neighborhood. This is extremely important in Southern Louisiana (as in other places around the United States) because of the large concentration of PVC facilities.

Young Aspirations/Young Artists- "I was born a stick figure and with each person I meet and each action I take, I become a full drawing." I'm not sure who wrote that, but it is a reminder of how intertwined humanity is with art. This is an organization that brings art to the youth of New Orleans. Now N.O. has a strong rich history of art and artists, the city has once again entered a time when art and artists are helping to keep it alive.  

 
Alright, I'm going to stop here. I could continue the rest of my day writing about organizations we should all know and care about in New Orleans. Hopefully this has peaked your curiousity and you will do a little more research on the topics you are most interested. I feel there may be a running theme to my blogs, figure it out yourself. No . . its not that harsh. I guess I mean I want to be source of information where anyone who reads my writing will feel empowered to discover what their role is in this big ol' mess of ours. Am I doing that? Are you bored? Would you rather read about Nicole Richie or my LA Sophis-Hipster style I was recently told I have?

Well, at any rate, you are stuck with what I give you. Oh the power I have!

 

Holla.
Renee.  

 

 

 

I was totally going to wait until next week to blog again, but this morning I got 8 (EIGHT!!) Google Alerts on cats being poisoned by (get the dictionary out this is going to be a really big word) polybrominated diphenyl ethers. Alright, I'll get the dictionary out for you.

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers: or PBDEs, are a group of chemicals that are used as flame retardants in a variety of polymer resins and plastics. They are found in many products in most homes and businesses, including furniture, TVs, stereos, computers, carpets, and curtains.

PBDEs are also used, to a lesser degree, in some textiles, adhesives, sealants and coatings.

So flame retardants. I think I talked a little about them when I was out in Silicon Valley running around with that giant skull made out of e-waste. Yes, this is actually my job. I know your jealous!

One more vocabulary word before I move onto the meat of this issue and why I got so many Google Alerts on this thing. I'm not spokeswoman for many things, but Google Alerts --- awesome! 

Feline hyperthyroidism (You have to see the little cat (ha ha) scans of these cats: is the most common endocrine disorder. Some of the signs are rapid weight loss, hyperactivity, and increased appetite as well as increased water consumption.

Ok, so, it turns out feline hyperthroidism was almost unknown until the 1970's and now its a total epidemic. The EPA is calling cats the canary in the coal mine for toxic chemicals in our homes. Scary.  And if your cat is getting sick from the unnecessarily dangerous and deadly chemicals in your furniture, think about your kids.  Young children have a higher propensity of putting random household items in their mouths and because of their smaller bodies chemicals accumulate at a faster rate.

In 2004 the European Union banned two types of PBDEs and this past spring Washington state became the first in the country to ban all uses of PBDEs.  

Keep up the pressure all you cat-lovers! and people lovers! We all deserve better a toxic free home.

 

Holla.  

 

 

 

And can you make it toxic free? 

A good friend of mine bought some junk of a house in NE (a lower income quadrant of the District of Columbia that is quickly becoming the IT area) two years ago and decided to gut the entire place and rebuild his very own house. Sounds fun, time consuming, and exhausting. It is. In the winter it's really cold and in the summer you have to stand directly in front of the air conditioner to cool down. Needless to say we usually hang out at my house.

Ben and I have been friends for about 5 years. He has slowly come around that non-violent direct action makes change and now I've moved on to the discussion that his new house should be green in design. He gives me the same old excuses that big companies like Kimberly Clark say, "it's too expensive and difficult to go green". I call Bullsh****.

And I'm out to prove it. So is Brad Pitt with Global Green and the New Orleans chapter of Habitat for Humanity by building their Musicians Village pvc-free.

Maybe you're asking yourself, what the hell is a 'green building'? And that's cool. I'm not a building expert or even an environmental expert of any kind (I just work here people).  So I did some research. Here's what I found:

Global Green defines a green building as a building that "saves energy, conserves water, protects natural resources, contributes to a healthy indoor environment, and reduces the building's impact on the community." Makes sense.

Now, how do you that?

My House is Your House is an organization that talks about this. It is a consumer education advocacy campaign that is tied to the award-winning documentary Blue Vinyl (our very own Toxics Campaigner Rick Hind is featured in the movie).

The Healthy Building Network says, "Green design and construction standards, materials policies and operating practices are an opportunity to decrease - and even reverse - the profound impacts of the contemporary building industry on the environment and human health" and is using their influence to help keep green builders true to their mission and stand tall against the toxic industry's bullying ways.

The Natural Resources Defense Council has an entire site dedicated to "Building Green: From Principle to Practice". 

I know this isn't that in depth, but it's a good starting point for you to do some additional research on your own. So there you go. Homework!

Alright Ben, let's do this!  

Holla . . .  

I'm admitting it. I'm a slave to fashion. I love shopping. I love shoes and bags and makeup. I'm the best target for marketing people. Yes, I work on issues that usually go against this type of consumerism, but the reality is in my personal life I love shopping.

So besides the whole toxics part of this, I'm loving the whole banning of plastic bags in cities. There are already bags being designed specifically for this issue and they are selling out everywhere. This cute one once sold for $10 and now aggressive shoppers might be able to get their hands on it for anywhere between $600-$1000!

I totally want to get my grimmy paws on one of those. Or maybe I can make my own, though I doubt that will actually happen. However, I was super creative this weekend when I turned all my hat boxes into my drafting table legs. So I guess you never know where a slow weekend will take you.

Besides seeing hippies take on more fashionable ways to shop for GMO-free, organic food (which is always nice), mainstream media has taken on this issue as well.

Here are some interesting articles:

NY Times 

Christina Science Monitor  

USA Today 

 

Here is some more information on what our office in Amsterdam is saying about chemicals in our homes.  

 

Holla.  

A new report came out this week about Matell, Inc (the largest toy maker in the world) recalling 1.5 million toys because of high levels of lead.

LEAD!

Who thinks it's ok for children to play with lead? I've seen the after school specials and the epsiodes of ER, where kids develop serious health issues related to interacting with lead in paint. And that's paint in lower income housing areas that were slapped up years before tighter regulation.

Come on, people! The dangers of lead is no longer a secret! I'm not from New York but for some reason I just felt a Brooklyn accent come through in that last thought.

In news articles galore, Mattell is saying that they are leaders in product safety. I'm not the expert in this subject, but it does make me think about the significance of supply chains. Look, I didn't study Finance and Economics either so stay with me.

Mattell is one of the most recognizable brands out there. I grew up watching Seseame Street, I know who Elmo is and so do millions of kids playing with their toys today. If this company, who has a public spotlight on them, isn't paying very close attention to their supply chain, I'm scared to think about what poisonous products are also on the market from lesser known companies.

So I did some digging and I found an interesting campaign where you can do something about all this shady-ness in our little people's play things. 

Remember Lois Gibbs -- the mother turned activists from New York (maybe that's who I was just channeling)? After she made enormous strives for her family and neighbors, she started this organization with a bunch of other passionate toxics activists.  

Center for Health, Environment and Justice: Check out this site and learn about how PVC packaging is breaking state laws and how it's not only lead but it is also PVC being found your children's toys. (maybe you don't have a child, but if you take my friends actions as a national trend, we have officially entered baby AND marriage season - stay safe!)  

 

Hope this blog thingy gives you some interesting reads and good information to be an educated consumer.

 

Holla.

Renee.  

 

 

 

 

I know. I know. It's been a long time. But being if you think being a Greenpeace activist keeps you busy, try being on staff full-time. I would like to think it's like being 2 GP activists all rolled into one, but I know how busy all of you are too.

 

So . . . I'm sure you have the latest Guide to Greener Electronics that came out at the end of June. If not, check it out here.  If you don't have time to read the whole thing, let me recap.

Nokia is now at the number 1 spot (no one is a 10 yet, which means don't stop pressuring the electronics industry to green up their act).

Apple is 5.3!! Yea!! This is because of all you! You greened Apple!!

 

Well more later. I promise. And it won't take weeks and weeks!

 

Renee  

Want to know more about rail security?

I know it doesn't sound as sexy as saving the whales and climate change, but it's a pretty important issue that affects communities as much as the planet. If you have listened to any news about the war in Iraq then I'm sure you have heard about attacks on chlorine trucks. If we don't clean up and tighten security in our chemical plants as well as the train cars that are transporting all those nasty chemicals then you might be hearing about similar attacks in your own neighborhood. I am not a big believer in the theory that telling upsetting stories is going to motivate people to act. I really do believe, however,  that part of becoming an agent of change means that something you saw or heard hits you in the gut and makes it impossible for you not to act.

I think these stories just might hit you in the gut.

 

NPR's June 18th Morning Edition story, "Toxic-Freight Threat a Challenge to U.S. Cities," can be heard
at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=11151826

and 

The PBS program "Expose" features a two part program on chemical
& rail security at: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/air/about.html

 

Thanks. Renee.

A few words from our National Legislative Director Rick Hind:  

 

On March 27th, the U.S. House of Representative voted 299 to 124 for a rail security bill (H.R. 1401). The bill included an amendment by Representative Edward Markey (D-MA) to  re-route ultra-hazardous cargoes, such as chlorine gas, around high threat urban areas. This bill was scheduled to go to a "Conference Committee" where the House and Senate would iron out differences between their bills. However, on June 26th Senate Republicans blocked efforts to bring the bill to Committee which will delay any further action until at least after the 4th of July recess.

If the House bill is accepted it will represent a giant step toward eliminating the risks these rail cars represent to densely populated areas. In addition to re-routing, H.R. 1401 limits the storage on rails of these chemicals in populous areas. Later this year Congress will take the next step in moving legislation to require chemical plants to convert to safer chemicals so that toxic cargo will not be shipped anywhere.

The good news is that these toxic cargoes represent only 0.3% of freight rail. However, the railroads are one of the most vulnerable domestic sectors to terrorist attacks. In 2003 the FBI warned, “You’ve heard about sarin and other chemical weapons in the news. But it’s far easier to attack a rail car full of toxic industrial chemicals than it is to compromise the security of a military base and obtain these materials.”

In the last six months dozens of people have been killed in terrorists attacks in Iraq using chlorine gas. The U.S. Naval Research Laboratory estimates that more than 100,000 people could be killed or injured within the first 30 minutes of a terrorist attack on one rail car of chlorine or similar chemical cargo passing through a major city such as Washington, D.C. They warned that “lethally exposed people can die at the rate of 100 per second.”

Almost six years after the 9/11 attacks Congress should act today to send the House re-routing bill to the President and he should be urged to sign it as soon as it arrives on his desk.

Rick

May 27 marked the 100 birthday of a real activist, scientist, and legend, Rachel Carson. You know, the woman that wrote 'Silent Spring'. She talked pesticides and cancer before the statistics of getting cancer was one in two for men and one in three for women (and two-thirds of these women have no family history of cancer).

 
In 1972 the US got rid of DDT (Dichloro-Diphenyl-Trichloroethane), but the substance is still found in our fish, animals, land and bodies. This is why strong chemical legislation based on the precautionary principle is so important. In 1976 the Toxics Substances Control Act was passed and is the key law protecting us from harmful chemicals in the United States, but it lacks the authority to make real change.

Alright back to Rachel Carson. She was born May 27, 1907 on a family farm just up the Allegheny River near Pittsburgh. She was an avid reader growing up and a remarkable writer at a young age. Her first story was published at the age of 11 and she spent most of time outside enjoying the land and animals around her home. She attended Pennsylvania College for Women originally studying English, but in January of 1928 she switched her major to Biology. Carson graduated in 1929 magna cum laude. That summer she took a course at the Marina Biological Laboratory and then continued her studies in Zoology and Genetics at John Hopkins University in the Fall of 1929. (Ok . . .  June 4, 1920 women received the right to vote. Just let that info marinate in your 'there is currently a female African American Secretary of State" world for a moment)

 After taking a part-time position working on an educational radio program called "Romance Under the Sea" with the US Bureau of Fisheries and her supervisor, noticing her extraordinary work, attempted to get her the first full time position that came up. She took the Civil Service exam and outscored everyone that took it in 1936. She was hired as a Junior Aquatic Biologist, becoming only the second woman ever hired by the Bureau for a full-time professional position.

After writing articles for the Baltimore Sun and the Atlantic Monthly, Simon and Schuster publishing house contacted her to write an expanded version on her article, "Undersea", which resulted several years later into "Under the Sea-Wind". Her next book "The Sea Around Us" was published in 1951 and resulted in a National Book Award, two honorary doctorates, and an Oscar award winning film documentary. Her third book "The Edge of the Sea" was published in 1955. Beginning in the 1940's Carson was concerned about DDT and had been studying its effects on the environment and the health of those exposed to this chemical. "Silent Spring" was released in 1962 amid controversy and threats. She was even called an hysterical woman wanting to lead us back into the dark ages for her thoughts, but the book has since become the basis of the environmental movement in the west.

She died of breast cancer April 4, 1964 at the age of 54.  

The best part about Vegas isn't the free drinks and the do anything lifestyle, the best part is the heavyweight championships. And the one between the two most well known electronics companies has just begun.

It seems that not only has our Guide to Greener Electronics caused quite the stir in the Web 2.0 world, but it has created quite the frenzy among two certain CEOs. In January Michael Dell made this announcement and on May 2 Jobs made a pledge to green his machines too. But you don't think Dell would let Jobs simply get away with being greener (a full year earlier might I add), do you?

Now for an actually interesting version of this story check out Greenpeace International's version. (I sure didn't pick up any creative writing skills while I was hanging out with Tobias. Maybe I should try to get Nick Hornby on this campaign too.)

 

Take care, Renee.  

June 1st is an important date for the health and environment of the EU. REACH is on!

REACH stands for registration, evaluation, and authorization of chemicals. It's a revolutionary piece of legislation that fiercely effects the chemical industry and boy are they pissed.

 

Flip through our info on what's going on and why you should care. I mean do you know what that new car smell actually is? Gross. Super gross in fact. That's the smell of toxic chemicals leaching out of the steering wheel, fabric, and the rest of the plastic inside. Yeah, I told you it was nasty.

 and then  . . . 

Read this article:

  From the US Trade Press…
REACH Enters Into Force on June 1; Too Early to Celebrate, Advocates Say
BNA Daily Environment Report, Wednesday, May 30, 2007           Page A-6

The European Union's registration, evaluation, and authorization of chemicals (REACH) legislation is set to enter into force June 1, but a coalition of eight advocacy organizations said May 25 it is "too early to celebrate REACH."

"Embedded in the REACH legislation are numerous reviews, beginning in 2007 and continuing for the next 12 years," the coalition said. "These reviews will give the European Commission and EU member states the opportunity to tighten the legislation in line with last year's demands by civil society and some of the main political parties.

"However, the reviews could also be used by the chemical industry to further weaken current safety requirements," according to the statement from BEUC, an EU consumers organization; the European Environmental Bureau; Health and Environment Alliance; Euro Coop, an association of EU consumer cooperatives; Friends of the Earth Europe; Greenpeace; Women in Europe for a Common Future; and World Wildlife Fund.

At an EU Chemicals Regulation 2007 conference held May 1-2 in Washington, D.C., a consultant to the European Commission's Environment Directorate-General (DG) described numerous reviews that the legislation directs the Commission to undertake (84 DEN A-7, 5/2/07  ).

Reviews Within Two Years

By June 1, 2008, the Commission is supposed to review Annex I, which contains rules for chemical safety reports; Annex IV, which describes when substances are exempted from registration because, for example, sufficient information is known about the chemical and the risk is minimal; and Annex V, which addresses substances exempted from registration under the current legislation, according to Mark Blainey, independent consultant to the Environment DG.

If the Commission deems changes to be needed, it can propose those and the European Parliament can review the recommendations, Blainey said. The European Parliament has three months to review those changes, he said. If a majority objects to the changes, the Parliament can block them, he added, referring to a new procedure approved in June 2006.

By June 1, 2008, the Commission must issue a regulation describing the fees chemical manufacturers or manufacturers of products that release chemicals above a specified threshold will have to pay to register their chemicals, he said.

The fees are supposed to pay for 80 percent of the budget of the new European Chemicals Agency established by REACH, he noted.

The agency's Board of Appeals is to be set up as close as possible to June 1, 2008, Blainey said, adding that "appeals could arrive shortly thereafter."

By Dec. 1, 2008, the Commission is supposed to review Annex XIII, which provides the criteria to be used to identify persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic chemicals (PBTs) or very persistent and very bioaccumulative substances (vPvBs), he said.

The European Parliament included this review because some member states are concerned that the criteria REACH contains are not protective enough and that a substance of high concern might be missed, Blainey said.

Also by Dec. 1, 2008, the Commission is to review Annex XI.3, which allows companies to reduce the amount of test data they include in their registration package if they can show exposures to a substance they are registering would be sufficiently low, he said.

The Commission must decide what constitutes adequate justification for exposure controls to allow a company not to submit data that otherwise would be required by REACH, Blainey said.

Once again the Commission could propose changes, and the European Parliament has three months to review those changes, he said.

Scope of Law, Additional Requirements

By June 1, 2012, the Commission is supposed to review: the scope of REACH to determine whether it overlaps with other relevant EU provisions; how well the European Chemicals Agency is working; and whether certain substances have been affected too much by REACH, Blainey said.

By June 1, 2013, the Commission will review whether uses of substances that have endocrine-disrupting properties should still be authorized if a suitable safer alternative exists, he said.

The reason, Blainey said, is that the Parliament had wanted more stringent authorization language in REACH for substances, such as endocrine disruptors, that it considers high-concern chemicals, but it agreed to less-stringent language as part of a compromise that allowed the legislation to be adopted.

By June 1, 2019, the Commission is to determine whether registrants of chemicals made in or imported into the European Union in volumes of less than 10 metric tons should have to prepare chemical safety reports, Blainey said. Currently, chemical safety reports are not required for substances made in or imported into the European Union in volumes below 10 metric tons.

By that date the Commission also is to decide whether to extend REACH's obligation to inform consumers about substances, released by articles, that are not of very high concern but which could still be dangerous or unpleasant, such as causing allergies, according to information from the Commission's website.

By June 1, 2019, the Commission also will decide if reproductive toxicity test data should be required for chemicals that are made in or imported into the European Union in volumes between 10 metric tons and 100 metric tons per year, Blainey said.

'Green Agenda Certain to Resurface.'

As all these reviews are conducted, "the unfulfilled 'Green Agenda' is certain to resurface," according to David Bowe, a member of the European Parliament from 1989 to 2004 and now a consultant.

"Building upon what they have already achieved, [advocacy groups] will seek ways to ensure that the Commission and the European Chemicals Agency apply the most stringent interpretation to the yet undecided elements of the implementation package," he told the May 1-2 conference, adding that advocacy groups are likely to focus on the Parliament to encourage members to block changes the Commission may propose.

Industry also should be lobbying to achieve its goals, Bowe said, but he stressed that those efforts should be focused on making REACH work.

Summaries of REACH from the Commission's Environment and Enterprise Directorate-Generals are available, respectively, at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/reach/qa.htm and http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/reach/docs/reach/TechnicalQA_Feb2007.pdf.

By Pat Phibbs-Rizzuto
--------------------------

 

Well, I'm back from CA. Sunny, humid, and busy Washington DC for me again. Don't worry if the electronics industry doesn't continue to move towards greener designed products I'll be back at it following people asking, why the hell not kids?  

Take care. Renee.  

In 1907 a Belgian-American chemist named Leo Baekeland created a little ditty  phenol-formaldehyde polymer resin. CNN just posted an interesting article. Who knew that in only 100 years the consumption level of just one type called PVC would reach 16,000 million pounds in the US and Canada alone. In fact who knew that consumption of PVC in the US and Canada would increase 6,000 million pounds in 13 years (from 1994 to 2007).

In a report called "Economics of Phasing out PVC" by the Global Development and Environmental institute, writes "Polyvinyl chloride has grown from a little known material in the mid-twentieth century (used by the Navy for waterproofing in World War II, for example) to become one of the most widely used plastics today. Thanks to low prices and aggressive marketing, polyvinyl chloride, also known as PVC or "vinyl", has become ubiquitous in our homes and communities. We encounter PVC on a daily basis in products ranging from children's toys, packaging, and lawn furniture to water and sewer pipes, medical equipment, and building materials."

The report is pretty lengthy but an interesting read that touches on a broad introduction to vinyl and discusses alternatives in various materials. It ends with steps toward phasing out PVC.

I'd like to go into exactly what this stuff is, but its a warm day in San Fran and I'm headed back east.

See you on the flip side. (I dont think that works in this situation. We use to say it at this 24 hour diner at the start of the graveyard shift - oh well)

Take care. Renee.  

 

ps: So something that has been interesting to me as a social and environmental justice activist is understanding how useful inventions become dangerous to our well being. I'm sure since you are reading this blog (and found this blog in the first place) also know that Greenpeace had a pretty amazing Defending Our Oceans tour last year that started and ended confronting Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean.

One piece of that tour involved studying trash vortex's in the Pacific Ocean. You mean plastics end up killing not only those that live around manufacturing plants and poisoning us by leaching out of our water bottles, but it kills, strangles and otherwise is destroying our oceans?  Yeah . . . read this and check out just what our team found during the tour.

 

 

This week's MetroActive posted this small article about Greenpeace's Apple campaign. Scroll all the way to the bottom.

Renee.  

 

 

I mentioned PBDEs yesterday. Do you remember what those letters stand for? Polybrominated diphenylethers. Great, you remembered!!

So this chemical is toxic and exists in a lot of the things we use on a daily basis, electronics, furniture, and textiles. Many organizations are battling it out with governments and the chemical industry in an effort to save our seas, land, and children.

This is what the EPA is saying about this stuff.  

Here is an interesting article detailing what PBDEs are and what it is doing to our environment.  

In regards to why this matters in the whole e-waste issue, you should check out Greenpeace's report released Feb 8, 2007. If you would rather just have a snapshot of what that report says, read this.

Hope I haven't bored you, but this stuff is gross and dirty and has no place in the deeps of the ocean or in mother's breast milk. This little planet of ours deserves a little bit more respect, don't you think?

Take care. Renee.  

 

Oh wait . . . one more thing. Minnesota is awesome! 

So Apple has agreed to eliminate BFRs and PVC from their products by 2008, a whole year ahead of HP and Dell. I'm sure now that your excitement over the fact that your next mac is going to be less toxic has subsided, you might be asking yourself  . . .what does that mean? What are BFRs and PVC? Why does Greenpeace care about this? And lastly, really, aren't there bigger things to care and read about than ridiculously spelled words I can't pronounce?

I'm going to try to explain all this stuff in a way that not only makes sense but doesn't make your eyes glaze over like when I took chemistry in high school. God, I hated that class. I always got those stupid rings around my eyes from the goggles. Now that I only get those tiny little moon shaped rings where my eyeglasses fit oddly around my nose, I kind of find this stuff interesting. I also love Lyle Lovett. I'm just saying.

BFRs- Brominated Flame Retardants explained in its most simple form: are applied to prevent electronics, clothes, and furniture from catching fire. Intention is good but the practice is dirty and bad for your health. They are considered persistant organic pollutants (POPs) and are known to bioaccumulate.

POPs- Persistant Organic Pollutants are known to be a controversial discussion in itself, but for our purposes here, are known to travel vast distances from their original source. Polar Bears anyone? Yes, seriously, I'm not kidding you, there have been traces of this nasty stuff in those giant-soon-to-be-if-we-don't-do-something-about-it-extinct animals.

Now you're asking why. POPs bioaccumulate (you know, consistently build up) in fatty tissue and then there is the whole food chain thing. Big animal eats smaller animal. Even being exposed to really small amounts of BFRs over and over again is really bad. It just sit there in your fatty tissue bioaccummulating.

So that sucks. But really what does that mean to us? I have one more ridiculously long chemical name for you -- polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs). Yup, just one of the most used BFRs there is and just happens to be one of the most toxic.   

PBDEs- A type of BFR, Brominated Flame Retardant, are known to impair attention, learning, memory, behavior, and disrupt hormone and reproductive systems (breast milk). In short, these toxins are not only about our bodies and our best friend's bodies, they are about our children's bodies, our nieces and nephews bodies, and our best friend's children's bodies.

These things are so bad that several states have recommended phase out plans to force the elimination of them from products. The European Union announced a complete prohibition of PBDEs from all electronics products. 

I'm not interested in boring anyone here and there sure is enough bad news out there, so I'm going to stop right now. All this stuff just lightly touches on why cleaning up our electronics industry is important, even in the big ol' scheme of things (global warming). 

If you are interested in reading more about BFRs, check these out.

Health Care Without Harm 

Clean Production Action  

Natural Resources Defense Council  

 Greenpeace International

Renee.

Yesterday Rick, Iza, Martin, Sam and I attended Apple's AGM.

It had its moments of gasps and laughter and beefy security guys. Bill Campbell sat in the front row the entire meeting. If that name rings a bell you can thank Lauren at Columbia for it. Steve sat in the front row for the official meeting part and then, along with three others (including Apple's General Counsel), sat on uncomfortable looking shiny metal stools on a stage. The room looked very much like a freshman year college lecture classroom, but then again they call Apple's headquarters a campus.

Iza, the head honcho woman in charge of putting the scorecard together, and Rick, our DC based toxics campaigner, talked about how much Apple has moved in terms of being more transparent and eliminating PVC and BFR's by the end of 2008.  That step is huge and Steve's deadline is a full year before anyone else's, including Dell. Awesome. I knew I loved my mac for a reason and I'll love my much greener mac a whole lot more.

 Rick even dropped off 250 (a small percentage of what we received) pictures of students from around the country saying "Hey Steve score a 10". One of his beefy assistants held on to it for us. We all want to give everyone that participated in the student week of action a really big hug and kiss. Steve saw first hand that you really care about greener electronics.

 Ted Smith, founder of Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition, and Barbara Kyle, Campaign Coordinator for Computer Take Back Campaign, spoke about the noticeable absence of a good global take back program from Job's green manifesto last week. Jobs responded that the company is taking back in the areas with the largest markets and increasing their iPod recycling goals. . . . Ok. . . . Don't forget Steve, people notice when they are not being treated equally. I'm sure Apple users in Argentina would really love to know that Apple cares about their access to recycle their electronics in a green manner. Because . . . who else but the companies who are making these products know best how to safely recycle them?

Steve acknowledged our questions and took full responsibility for creating a more transparent process that he hopes to continue being part of the Apple culture. We do too!  

So, I guess that is basically what happened at the meeting. 

Not as exciting as the Guadelupe Gardens Spring Festival where the giant skull got stuck in mulch and it took us two hours of inching the 1,200 pound sculpture back on the truck after spending 5 hours in the sun and heat, but hey it was pretty exciting as far as AGM's go.

Still in Cali,

Renee  

 

 

Activist Vocab Test:

(1) What does SRI mean?

(2) What does AGM mean?

 

Any ideas?

 
These two questions tackle an important part of most consumer campaigns . . . hitting companies where it hurts . . .  their shareholder demands.

 

SRI mean Socially Responsible Investing. Wikipedia details the history and such here.  But basically it means that people who want to invest in corporations that are more environmentally or socially responsible use a socially responsible investing firm to play the stock market. They do all the research and activism to encourage good behavior, practices, and policies and the investors make the money. (It is also a good way for companies to understand that if those that play the stock market can make money with a company that is good for the planet they will.)

When you are a stockholder in a company you get to participate in guiding the company to do good and part of that guiding is voting at the AGM (Annual General Meeting). You know those boring meetings companies have to have once a year to listen to what their stockholders have to say. They even have to listen to it if they disagree.

A lot of times, activists use these meetings to get the attention of the board members and stockholders about the issues they care passionately about.  Sometimes they do funky things like stand up and take off the boring collared shirts to show awesome t-shirts with their campaign messages, hand out buttons, or sit quietly until the Q&A sessions where they get to ask hard questions and whoever is representing the company needs to answer.

 
Do you see where this is going now?

 
Apple's AGM is on Thursday. Even though they made this big announcement last week, there are places where Apple can do better (global take back -- I'm turning into a broken record these days) and as shareholders we want to help them go green to the core (have you checked out that great animation on the front of www.greenmyapple.org? awesome!) 

 

Two SRI's that have been working on helping Apple score a 10 is As You Sow and Trillium. Both groups do amazing work and have for years.

This is what As You Sow has to say about Apple. 

This is what Trillium has to say about Apple.  

 

If you want to learn more about why social and environmental justice organizations think attending AGM's are good, you should totally read Rules for Radicals. It tells a good story.

 

Hasta.

It is Sunday night and I've been watching Miami Ink for most of the afternoon. I love that show!! And it's not just because I grew up in South Florida or that I think the owner of Miami Ink is super hot, I just  .  . ..  am a little bored, been in this strange town for two weeks, and don't feel like doing the dishes.

 

I was doing some art history research for my next tattoo, but even while I'm trying to decide on what type of frame I want for my back piece (I'm not sure I even believe that one), I couldn't help but look through the greenmyapple flickr site. There are some great new pictures up.

 

Check out this one -- very creative. I like this one too. And you can't beat the love from USC -- who made that thing? I found this too. Ok, it has nothing to do with a greener apple, but whatever it's Sunday night and I'm bored.  Back to the green.

 

The Week Ahead: I know I promised that the skull was underwraps these days, but it is making a two day appearance around Stanford and De Anza College on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Don't forget to check back later in the week to read the recap.

 While out here in Silicon Valley, I've been able to meet some really amazing colleagues. Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is a great group out of San Jose that has been working on e-waste issues before I had my first computer. The staff there has achieved an incredible amount in this year including helping students create toxic free UC campus'. Wow, a far reaching environmental sustainability policy on every UC campus? That's amazing. And totally possible on every campus. If you are a student an interested in getting more info on how to start something similar on your campus, you should definately join our student network. There are trainings available and access to Greenpeace campaigners to help your campus group make a real green difference.

 

One more thing --- If you haven't already seen this, take a look now.  

 

I'm done now. 

 

Green dreams and Holla from Cali -- Renee

Yesterday was pretty exciting. You know that whole A Greener Apple thing and all.

 So what's a girl to do when her whole purpose in being in sunny Northern California when her boss tells her to put away the skull and get ready for a board meeting?

 

She reads the newspaper. And blogs. And anything else she can get her hands on to see what everyone else is saying about this Greener Apple (by 2008 anyway).

 

I read this this morning.  

 

And for a girl spending all her time in Silicon Valley I make sure to check out Valleywag every day (ok sometimes a couple times a day). But they said this yesterday right after the announcment.

 

Mercury News . . .   Greenpeace  . . . Business Week . . . BBC  . . . Houston Chronical . .   . Wired Magazine (blog) . . .  Not too shabby. Not too shabby.

 

Holla from Cali ---  

 

 

 

I arrived in Silicon Valley on April 16 ready to rock and roll on the Toxic Tech Tour. I was really excited to help the campaign in such a unique way. "You mean, you want me to drive around Cupertino and San Jose with a 7ft high skull made out of e-waste and talk about how much cooler it would be inf Apple eliminate toxins from its computers and implemented a global take back program?" I couldn't believe what my team was asking me to do, but I was happy to do it.

During the past two weeks and after speaking to Apple employees, neighbors of Apple's headquarters and even former schoolmates of Steve Jobs, I learned that not many people knew just how far behind Apple was in eliminating toxic chemicals than the rest of the industry. It was great for me, a die hard Apple user, to be part of a movement encouraging Apple to be better, to be more innovative, and to change a dirty industry into a clean, green one.

It has been a great two weeks. We showed up at San Jose Giants baseball games, San Jose State University's Sustainability Week, and the Spring Festival at Guadelupe River and Park, not to mention about a half dozen other places. I even got to meet my favorite author, Tobias Wolff (awesome!), and talk about the campaign on a local radio show. How hot is that?

But what is even more hot than meeting my favorite author is what Steve Jobs said today in a post titled: A Greener Apple.

The introduction reads like this:
'It is generally not Apple’s policy to trumpet our plans for the future; we tend to talk about the things we have just accomplished. Unfortunately this policy has left our customers, shareholders, employees and the industry in the dark about Apple’s desires and plans to become greener. Our stakeholders deserve and expect more from us, and they’re right to do so. They want us to be a leader in this area, just as we are in the other areas of our business. So today we’re changing our policy.'

The rest of the post goes into all the ways Apple is going green and greener than some other companies. Since August of 2006 they have been ranked as 2.7 out of a possible 10 on our Guide to Greener Electronics and now with all this they will be ranked a 5. And I feel a little better about listening to my iPod and using my ibook.

Apple still isn't the greenest, which is kind of disappointing to someone who has grown up learning about computers on all those pretty Apple products. It would be really cool if Steve announced that they will be taking back their products in every country they sell them.

Of course it isn't Greenpeace's style to not follow through . . . so I will continue to work with Apple users in encouraging Apple to go green . . to the core.

Take care.
Renee.

Ok so I've told you about the San Jose Giants games the Skulpture attended, now its time to take a look at the photos.

 http://www.flickr.com/photos/7848385@N04/
 

 Also, if you didn't know already, the student week of action was a HUGE SUCCESS!!! Yea Sam and the over 50 campus' that took part.

 

This weekend we are rocking an e-waste drop off event in Sunnyvale and Green Festival at the Methodist Church in Los Gatos. Stay tuned for more pictures.

Holla from Cali -- Renee.  

This is what the Spartan Daily had to say about the Toxic Tech Tour.

"Greenpeace, an environmental non-profit organization brought a seven-foot-tall skull made up of old computer parts to bring attention to the issue of electronic waste.

According to Renee Blanchard, a Greenpeace employee, 30 tons of electronic products are discarded worldwide each year. She also said that cell phones have an average lifecycle of two years and that adds to an enormous amount of waste if everyone continues to buy new one each year.

"Old electronic goods are being shipped out to landfills in Asia and being broken down by these families who melt the old electronics and inhale all these plastic toxins," Blanchard said.

Greenpeace is working with 14 electronic companies, including Apple Computers, to create electronics that do not contain Polyvinyl chloride, a toxic chlorinated plastic, and brominated flame retardants used in circuit boards, which can interfere with thyroid and oestrogen hormone systems.

Mica Demarquez, an employee of Crossroads Recycled Clothing Company, said the skull was an interesting art piece and it has the power to bring out awareness."

Hi I'm Renee. I am the Campaign Assistant but for the next month, consider me the Toxic Tech Tour Cheerleader -- of sorts. I am hanging out with Amanda and we are showing off Greenpeace's Skulpture    (a giant sculpture made out of old computer parts in the shape of a skull).  Awesome.

Amanda arrived in the Silicon Valley area one week today. She started out the Toxic Tech Tour at the San Jose Giants baseball game last Friday and officially brought the e-waste skull (we still don't have a name for it) out to play. We were even showed the Apple Ads we made last year on the Jumbo tron.

Our third event for the Toxic Tech Tour was at San Jose State University. The SJSU Environmental Club invited Amanda, Ashby, Richard and I to join them for their school's Sustainability Week event yesterday. We all showed up bright and early to Seventh Street Plaza on campus, but we didn't go alone. We brought the giant e-waste skull with us, again!

Yesterday on campus we placed the skull right next to a great fair trade coffee tasting. . . . hmmm . ..  fair trade coffee . . . !! It was so good. There was even a taste test of tap water vs bottled water. Amanda got it right within seconds.

The day went really well. This 7ft by 17 ft by 6 ft skulpture is a great conversation starter. People stopped by to see what the hell was going on and walked away knowing that we love our apples, we just wish they were greener. We also got some great pictures for the Student Week of Action. Students held my iBook and a speech bubble that said, "SJSU says Steve Score a 10". It wasn't hard to figure out that students at SJSU really want Apple to go green and were surprised to find out they weren't already.

The Toxic Tech Tour is just getting started. We have a couple more events planned in San Jose this weekend. Stay tuned for more from the Amanda and Renee show out here in Silicon Valley.  We will be here until early May when the Apple board of directors and shareholders get together for the AGM in Cupertino.

 

If you don't know about the Green My Apple campaign, then take a look here.

Also, if you are in the area and have a great place you think the Skull should go, make sure to let us know.

Holla From Cali --- Renee.

 

 

 

 

 

Martin is a Toxics Campaigner and is currently in San Francisco to get the word out to people in town for MacWorld... 

It was a long day. Waking up at 6 a.m. to get to the Moscone center for the keynote speech of Steve Jobs... but I was still getting more sleep than many other Apple fans. Coming to the conference center just before 7 a.m., I expected to see a queue but I did not expect not to see the end of if. Some people spent the night out there to get the best places to see the speech. They brought camping gear, doughnuts and all the stuff that geeks need to survive during the night to waiting for HIM to appear (well they left all the waste including the camping gear behind as they rushed in). When the gates opened, the crowd moved into the building, so after a while I moved in – just to end up in another queue, this time inside the giant hall on the ground floor. Just before 9 a.m., when the speech was supposed to start, I got into the big hall that was to host the show.

When Steve appeared, his ego filled the room, the crowds were cheering and everybody was tense – what is he going to show? Well, I had my own hopes (guess which ones). He started in style – virtually "burning" the Zune player from Microsoft. Well the e-waste in China is burning for real. He also showed the classic "I'm a Mac I'm a PC" ad – this time sending the PC for surgery in expectations of the changes it will need for Vista. But as we know – the Mac needs to change itself– to get rid of the toxics.

But the main news was of course the iPhone. Widely expected, after lots of rumors, it was finally unveiled. There were lots of features presented and as usual the design is nice and shiny. On the new visual voicemail Steve listened to message from Al Gore (hopefully Al will also tell him to green up); called the Starbucks to pretend to order 4 lattes to go (but he did not in the end and I would have appreciated a coffee!) listened to music; watched the video (he should see his own speech as we would like to have it); browsed the web (damn, missed the greenmyapple site again) and last but not least looked at the Google Earth pictures of Paris Eiffel Tower and Washington Monument in Washington DC (hmmm – why not the scrap yard in Guiyu, China, where thousand of old computers end up, including Macs). Lots of great functions, lots of new inventions, lots of patents (actually Apple claimed over 200 for the iPhone). But one thing was missing – will the iPhone be any greener? Will we finally see a greener Mac? These questions remained unanswered. So we have to keep asking them. Will you?

- Martin

Student Network Coordinator Sam Raskin here reporting back from MacWorld where yesterday was a full and exciting day of outreach.

It was uncharacteristically warm and sunny--even for San Francisco--so we set up hour huge, green inflatable apple right in front of the Expo and started talking to attendees. Everyone likes "green apples" so we had no trouble drawing in a steady stream of folks to our attraction and many of them agreed with us that we need a "greener Apple".

When we started to feel a little woozy from all the sunshine, Renee and I decided to go inside the expo itself to talk up the campaign in the shade. Of course we didn't go alone, we brought our buddy, the six and a half foot tall "Mac man" cut out for company. With our cardboard buddy in tow we didn't have any trouble meeting a crowd of interested Mac users and spreading the "Green My Apple" message throughout the expo. Well, it looks like we have a new shipment of fliers coming in, hot of the presses, so it's back out to Mac World we go. Until next time!

- Sam

Renee is currently in San Francisco to get the word out to people in town for MacWorld... 

Bright and early (6:30am) this morning we greeted the people waiting in line to hear Steve Job's famous MacWorld speech. As we handed each Apple enthusiasts a flyer and a cheery "Good Morning," we were welcomed with people interested in knowing more about the company they love so dearly.

We were asked thoughtful and interesting questions about our campaign during the two and half hours outside Moscone West. We even had a life size cut out of the "Mac Guy" with us for people to take pictures of/with.

Though I was a little skeptical about having him there, people responded really well and he had a personality all his own. Seeing events this week take shape outside one of the biggest electronics conferences in the world, I see that no one really thinks BFR's and PVC's should not be taken out of the life-cycle of their favorite computer. If no one wants these toxics in their electronics, why hasn't Apple said when they are getting rid of them?

As I write this, Job's almost finished with his speech and I am standing about a block away hoping that when the crowd floods out there will be news of a brand new 'Green Apple'.

- Renee

Hello folks-

Steve-o here from the Greenpeace team in San Francisco. I'm one of the lucky ones who got to show up here to talk to the 40,000+ people descending on this fabulous city for the Macworld Conference and Expo. We're a team that has come from all over the world- Beijing, Bratislava, Amsterdam, D.C. (where myself and some of us live and work) to bring our message to the Mac World at large: that we all love our Apples, but we desperately want them to be greener. As one of the world's leaders in technological innovation, Apple has always been leading the pack, but they have been slow to commit to timelines for which they should be leading: to eliminate the most hazardous chemicals from their products and to begin a very aggressive recycling program.

We held a press conference this morning to introduce ourselves to many of the folks who will be dealing with the Macworld Expo and conference, and all went well. We'll hopefully be able to get our message out to apple users through the media, that we want a Green Apple, and hopefully get all of the Mac enthusiasts out there to join our campaign to make Apple a leader in what could no doubt be one of the greatest innovations they could come up with: products that are less harmful to the environment.

Steve-o