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By Rachel Hinchliffe

So maybe I'm the last to the gate here, but as I'm sitting here in my hotel room checking in to my Newark – Boston flight home, I received an option from Continental to receive a paperless boarding pass.

Now travelers who check-in to their flights ahead of time can receive a link on their cell phones or PDAs that they scan at the TSA security checkpoint and at the gate. Apparently, there are now 30 airports and 5 airlines piloting the technology.

If there are any pilot airlines or airports reading our blog, check out EDF's online Paper Calculator so you can calculate the environmental impacts of this cool new innovation. Thanks for reducing the paper waste AND my frustration when I search for that crumpled piece of paper at the bottom of my travel bag.

By Richard Denison

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist.

A new entry showed up sometime in the last day on EPA's webpage for its ChAMP initiative.  It reads:  "The Chemical Assessment and Management Program (ChAMP) has been superseded by the comprehensive approach to enhancing the Agency’s current chemicals management program announced by Administrator Lisa Jackson on September 29, 2009."

Don't miss this bit at the top of the page:

Yes, that image is a cobweb, which EPA uses to designate archived web content.  What's happening here?

Lost in the buzz surrounding EPA Administrator Jackson's speech on Tuesday unveiling EPA's new TSCA reform principles was the fact that EPA simultaneously announced a rather sweeping set of changes to its current existing chemicals work aimed at "Enhancing EPA’s Chemical Management Program."

Now, as regular readers of this blog know, EDF has for some time been raising serious concerns with ChAMP.  To review:

• We noted that, about 18 months ago, EPA had made an abrupt shift from developing hazard characterizations based on the hazard data sets submitted under the HPV Challenge, to cranking out "risk-based prioritizations" that were frequently designating high-hazard chemicals as being low-risk, based on poor and incomplete use and exposure information.
• We also said EPA was, in the process, obscuring the significance of the data gaps and data quality problems remaining even in supposedly "final" industry data submissions.
• Finally, we lamented the fact that the only "action" EPA was proposing to take even for the high-concern chemicals it identified under ChAMP was yet more testing and assessment – never getting to any risk mitigation.

So it 's quite heartening to see that EPA's enhancements directly address all of these problems:

• EPA has returned the focus of its assessment activities to developing hazard characterizations for HPV chemicals, and just posted 100 of them in September.
• EPA is to publish TSCA Section 4 test rules to tackle HPV Challenge chemical data gaps, not only for unsponsored "orphan" chemicals, but for "sponsored but unfulfilled chemicals."
• In 2010, EPA will propose a significant revamping of its Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) rule to "make the reporting of chemical use information more transparent, more current, more useful, and more useable by the public."
• And last but certainly not least, EPA will be taking on a slew of new "regulatory risk management actions" for old enemies like lead and mercury, and developing "chemical action plans" for some of the more recent arrivals on the toxic chemicals scene.  The initial list contains some bold entries:
  • Benzidine dyes and pigments
  • Bisphenol A (BPA)
  • Penta, octa, and decabromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in products
  • Perfluorinated chemicals
  • Phthalates
  • Short-chain chlorinated paraffins

EPA says it "intends to utilize the full array of regulatory tools under TSCA to address risks, including authority to label, restrict, or ban chemicals under Section 6 of TSCA."

Now, I can just hear you saying, "But wait, how will this EPA overcome all of TSCA's hurdles, which you've prattled on about ad nauseum, Richard?"

Well, let me say two things to that.  First, bless their hearts for being willing to try.  Second, in addition to the inherent burdens imposed by TSCA, EPA has been stymied over the years by two other forces:

• a massively burdensome executive branch process for regulatory development, and
• a virtual guarantee that industry will challenge EPA's regulations at every opportunity.

So, this new EPA effort will be an interesting test, both for the new Administration's regulatory review process and for industry's new-found religion under which it has acknowledged that EPA needs to be able to exercise greater authority under TSCA.

One image immediately comes to mind; click here.

 

I can also hear you saying, "Gee, if EPA manages to pull this off, what's the need for TSCA reform?"

Again, two responses.  First, I'm in favor of any action EPA can take to reduce chemical risk, and the sooner the better, especially given it'll be some time before:  a) TSCA reform is adopted, and b) TSCA reform is implemented.

Second, as welcome as all this new stuff is, it's hardly the comprehensive approach that's needed.  That looks much more like this and this.

Ann Hayden is a Senior Water Resource Analyst at EDF. After another week of attempts  to weaken the Endangered Species Act, EDF couldn’t be happier to see Lester Snow, Director of the State’s Department of Water Resources, put his support of the ESA in writing. See his letter to Senator Feinstein, Secretaries Salazar and Locke  here […]

Thomas Donahue, president and CEO of the Chamber, issued a statement today in response to heavy public criticism of the Chamber’s position on climate change. His attempts to tap dance out of a public relations disaster, like the Chamber’s defense of the status quo, will do nothing to address the serious questions of American energy […]

As we’ve reported here, here, and here, EPA has designed and released for public comment two options for new information labels one of which will go on new cars in 2012.  Both labels have a slick new look as well as helpful information comparing fuel efficiency, greenhouse gas emissions, tail pipe emissions between vehicles, and […]

We know that Southeast fishermen and business owners aren’t happy with the long season closures in place for many popular snapper grouper species, but today marks a victory toward better management that will help move the fishery away from closures. Today the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted unanimously to explore a catch share amendment […]

The American Petroleum Institute (API) recently took a break from hosting anti-cap-and-trade rallies for oil company employees, and used its spare time to put out a study claiming the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) would be unfair to American oil refineries. Unfortunately their study uses some dubious assumptions – and makes some even […]

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist. In June, EPA published a Federal Register notice that included Significant New Use Rules (SNURs) for two carbon nanotubes (as well as 21 other chemicals).  That notice certainly got the attention of lawyers in town (see here, here and here).  The nanotube SNURs would require anyone planning to […]

The post The nanotube SNURs: Nano step forward, nano step back first appeared on EDF Health.

Richard Denison, Ph.D., is a Senior Scientist. I hate to say it, but Friends of the Earth, Consumers Union, and the International Center for Technology Assessment (ICTA) have done a disservice to good science and policy with their new superficial report Manufactured Nanomaterials and Sunscreens: Top Reasons for Precaution. There are all kinds of legitimate safety […]

The post Superficial science in new nano sunscreen report first appeared on EDF Health.

By Rachel Hinchliffe

Back in 2000, EDF and FedEx joined forces to develop a hybrid diesel-electric delivery truck and selected Eaton Corporation to build it. The idea was that the drive train Eaton built – which reduces fuel consumption while cutting pollution – would eventually reach economies of scale and transform the industry.

A recent GreenBiz article about Eaton suggests this market transformation is starting to happen. In addition to FedEx, Eaton’s customers now include UPS, Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Purolator-Courier, Frito Lay, Verizon, AT &T, Florida Power and Light and Wal-Mart.  Eaton’s CEO, Alexander M. "Sandy" Cutler, says hybrid trucks are “…finally taking off” and “…a lot of competitors are developing around the world.”

While there are over 1,400 hybrid trucks on the road or on order in North American fleets today, Cutler says we need to get to 10,000 to achieve economies of scale. Until we reach that level, financial incentives are critical in helping fleets offset upfront costs and realizing the full environmental benefits of hybrid technology. Our hybrid truck incentives guide plugs fleet managers in to the many state, regional and federal opportunities to reduce the cost of a cleaner truck.  For example, states like New Hampshire and New York – and soon California – offer funds toward 80% of the incremental cost of a hybrid truck. There’s also a generous pot of EPA money for hybrid trucks here in New England.

Money may not grow on trees, but it’s here for the picking.

Green leasing is becoming more popular in real estate these days as building owners and tenants find themselves codependent when it comes to reducing consumption.

Featuring: Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund Steve Cochran, Director, National Climate Campaign With your help, we passed climate legislation through the House. Just one more hurdle in the Senate and the bill will be on the President’s desk. But it’s a steep hurdle. We are up against formidable forces: industry opponents who already have […]

By EDF Blogs

Featuring:
Fred Krupp, President, Environmental Defense Fund
Steve Cochran, Director, National Climate Campaign

With your help, we passed climate legislation through the House. Just one more hurdle in the Senate and the bill will be on the President's desk. But it's a steep hurdle.

We are up against formidable forces: industry opponents who already have hundreds of millions of dollars in the bank; an economy that makes everyone anxious and pushes the environment down the agenda; and right-wing media demagogues who are using climate legislation to gin up ugly populist anger.

We must win this fight. We have a window of opportunity, but the window will not stay open much longer. That is why the environmental community has agreed to come together in an unprecedented effort, reorganizing and mobilizing ourselves into one streamlined, turbo-charged campaign with only one goal: to get climate legislation passed.

Listen to our discussion on the challenges and opportunities we face in the coming weeks.

Download mp3 | Subscribe in iTunes

EDF recently enhanced one of our most popular resources for companies: PaperCalculator.org. Now fully updated with the latest scientific information, it is a robust tool for understanding how different paper choices affect the environment – whether you want to know how many trees were spared by reducing paper use, or the energy savings from choosing […]

Michael Oppenheimer and I have a post up on Huffington Post that explains why cap and trade is more effective than a tax at slowing and eventually halting global warming. Here are just the highlights: Environmental certainty. Let's keep our eyes on the prize: avoiding dangerous climate change. A legally binding cap is the only […]

For the past 10 years Doug Rader has worked with golden crab fishermen to protect deepwater corals off the South Atlantic coast.  Between formal Fishery Council meetings and hallway conversations, a compromise of allowable fishing zones will keep golden crab fishermen fishing and deepwater corals out of harms way.  The golden crab industry has a […]

Date: Monday, April 20th, 2009, 4:00 p.m. EST Featuring: David Yarnold, Executive Director Steve Cochran, Director, National Climate Campaign Congress has fired the starting gun on the most important legislative fight of our lives. Just last week, Congressmen Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Ed Markey (D- MA) released a draft climate and energy bill that could […]

Next Tuesday, EDF will release the second annual Innovations Review at the Fortune Brainstorm Green conference. The Innovations Review is our survey of the most compelling — and implementable — new practices and technologies that generate environmental and business benefits for companies. The Review team has been toiling away for months looking for advances in […]

By Rachel Hinchliffe

We are actively recruiting fleets around the country interested in buying hybrid diesel-electric trucks to take advantage of funds made available in the recently-passed Stimulus Bill.

Last year we created the Northeast Hybrid Truck Consortium to help New England fleets buy hybrid trucks, leveraging last year’s allocation of EPA Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA) funds. This year's ARRA Stimulus Bill created an additional (and expanded) pot of DERA funding, and we plan to leverage our success in EPA Region 1 into a national effort to pursue DERA funds to accelerate purchases of hybrid trucks. We are currently recruiting fleets to participate and are matching them up with other fleets and/or local NGO partners to meet DERA requirements. We can also provide generic language for DERA applications and can assist fleet managers with application questions.

We're recruiting private, municipal, and non-profit fleets across the country who would like to buy a hybrid diesel electric truck (or 10 or 100!) this year. If that describes your fleet, please contact Rachel Beckhardt at 617.173.2996 for more information. (This funding is on a very short timeline so please respond by 3/31/09.)

By Gernot Wagner

This week, Joe Stiglitz and Nick Stern published an opinion piece in the Financial Times titled "Obama's Chance to Lead the Green Recovery". They call for a "stable, strong" price for carbon, but do not say how that price should be set. I just posted a response in the FT's Economists' Forum. Here's how it begins:

Joe Stiglitz and Nick Stern are exactly right to emphasize the role President Barack Obama can play in leading the green recovery. They are also right to calling for a “stable, strong carbon price.” But it matters how that price is set. In the United States in particular, the right environmental, political and economic answer is a cap-and-trade system.

Take a look at the whole conversation. I also provided some more detail on the greenness of economic stimuli over at the Environmental Economics blog. Spoiler alert: China's trumps the United States' package 2:1.