EPA Launches “Greener Products” Portal

In celebration of Pollution Prevention Week and amid an atmosphere of intelligent concern for the environmental health and safety of products we use in every day life, the EPA has launched a simple online guide for the eco-labeling  programs it supports; the Greener Products Portal.

Consumers, small businesses, retailers, manufacturers, and institutional purchasers can use the Portal to search for products that are included in EPA-approved product labeling systems. Using a set of 3 drop down boxes to narrow their inquiries folks can find information on a wide range of products; from appliances to building materials, from automotive products to cleaning products. This tool can be useful for a wide range of people; from parents to industrial purchasers, and the many demographics in between.

For those most concerned with energy efficiency and e-waste, there is an electronics category that contains a label for most items you can think of. For example; how can you identify the most ec0-friendly computer monitors, and which programs cover them? Take a look:

Currently, the most prevalent labeling system to appear when testing several different types of electronic products is, of course, Energy Star. It is refreshing, however, to note that in addition to this familiar energy efficiency marker, there are other labeling systems in place for some electronic pieces- two of which are visible above.

In addition to the searching methods previewed here, you will also find a Greener Products FAQ section in a menu to the right side of the web page.

Take a look at this valuable new resource today to gain a better understanding of the products you use at home or in the workplace!

Massachusetts Residents Call Out Scott Brown, Rally Strong for Clean Air

Crossposted from 350.org

Today I got to stand next to more than 50 Massachusetts mothers, children, workers, community leaders, and people of faith to kick off something truly unique – a “crowd-funded” citizen’s campaign to hold Senator Scott Brown accountable for voting to gut the Clean Air Act. At 12:00pm on the sidewalk in front of the JFK Federal Building in Boston, also known as Scott Brown’s district office, we held banners and puppets of Scott Brown and his fat cat supporters “Coal” and “Oil, signs, and a blow-up of the new ad our friends and neighbors funded.

The text of the ad read: “Senator Brown: On April 6th you voted to gut the Clean Air Act. Was it because dirty energy companies and their corporate front groups poured more than $1.9 million into your campaign last year? Are you working for people or Big Polluters?” Interested in joining us in funding the ad? Check it out here.

Right after the rally Marla took our message up the JFK elevators to Senator Brown’s office, delivering word of the rally along with 103 postcards and 240 letters from members of the Massachusetts Council of Churches and Mass Interfaith Power and Light. The messages called on Senator Brown to support the EPA’s ability to regulate carbon dioxide next time a vote comes up on the Clean Air Act and ensure low income people have access to weatherization and green jobs.

At 6:30pm tonight at a podium inside the Newton Marriott Hotel Scott Brown will host a “Women for Brown” fundraiser (with a $1000 minimum) alongside the brand new Women For Brown coalition, a group created to respond to the League of Women Voters’ ads calling Scott Brown out for his April 6th vote to gut the Clean Air Act. We know what Scott Brown is going to say at that podium tonight: “Today in front of my office the political attack machine was at it again, playing politics as usual with the public.” He’ll talk about the “special interest groups” who are attacking him for trying to defend jobs. Yes, he will raise some money tonight. But the more Scott Brown digs in his heels, the more votes he will lose.

Today’s rally was no “political attack machine,” as Brown calls people who criticize him. Today’s rally was everyday-Massachusetts – a state where you don’t get to draw a line between jobs and the environment, the economy and climate change. People here across the political spectrum and in all corners of the state understand the threat of climate change and know that the jobs of tomorrow and today are in clean energy.

New Diesel Engines: Cleaner, More Efficient

“New diesel engines are more than 90 percent cleaner than a few years ago, far exceeding the emission reductions required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency”

An Environmental Health News story has put context to a new, 158-page report from The Coordinating Research Council on the new standard diesel truck and bus engines that have been in use since 2007.

The new engines, implemented on a large scale, should reduce, smog, airborne carcinogens, and incidents of lung and heart problems.

To see a new short film on the air quality problems in the South Bronx, many of which emanate from heavy diesel traffic, see Breathe Easy by Jesse Ash and Sustainable South Bronx.

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