Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Solving Global Warming , Solving Global Warming
Six years ago, the only people I talked to about global warming were other environmentalists. Now it is the top of the agenda for everyone from corporate CEOs to national security hawks. Last week, another sector joined in the growing...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil
Tomorrow night NRDC will do something it has never done before: give out the inaugural Growing Green Awards to leaders in the sustainable food movement. Selected by a panel chaired by Michael Pollan, the best-selling author of the Omnivore's Dilemma,...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment
Last week, the American Lung Association came out with its annual State of the Air report, and concluded that six out of every ten Americans live in communities with unhealthy air. I read these results not only as the head...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment
SC Johnson, the maker of some of the world's most popular household cleaning products, has just announced two bold steps that will help consumers make healthier choices. First, the company will provide ingredient information for all of its air care and...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment
Over the past year, I have noticed a disturbing trend. More and more people approach me to say that they or someone they love has dangerously high levels of mercury in their system. When actor Jeremy Piven recently bowed out...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment
President Obama has deftly used his time in office to make bold statements on everything from Guantanamo to global warming. In two weeks, he will have another opportunity to send a message to the world that the United States is...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Solving Global Warming
Americans have been assaulted on the airwaves with ads about so-called "clean coal." What happened in East Tennessee, where a breach of a coal ash pond at a power plant send a billion gallons of toxic sludge into nearby communities,...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Environmental Justice , Health and the Environment , The Media and the Environment , U.S. Law and Policy
It is with great sadness that I write about the passing of our dear friend and colleague Al Meyerhoff. A leader in NRDC's San Francisco office from 1981 to 1998, Al was a potent force for NRDC and the environment....
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably
I had breast cancer almost ten years ago, and I found chemotherapy to be more trying than I could have imagined. I prefer to leave it in the past, but recent reports brought it all back and triggered an alarming...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I am a breast cancer survivor, and in the years immediately after my diagnosis, I sometimes found the annual proliferation of pink ribbons difficult--it was hard to be reminded of cancer every time...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency registered its discontent with NRDC. Why? Because it claims we are overstepping by asking a public agency to share more public information. Maybe you don’t view the behavior of honeybees as a matter of...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably
In the past week, there have been a lot of news reports and blog chatter about BPA, also known as bisphenol-A. Finally, government agencies, consumers, and manufacturers are starting to take this toxin seriously. But BPA is only one member...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably
It’s been a bad week for bisphenol-A, and that’s a good thing. Not one but two government agencies came out for the first time publicly saying that this chemical--found in plastic water bottles, canned food, and numerous baby products--could harm...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably
I had breast cancer nine years ago. I have a strong constitution--and a strong will--and those carried me far during my diagnosis and treatment. But still it was a difficult time for me and my family. One thing that brought...
Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably
The evening baby bath routine is one of the simple pleasures of life for young parents. My three girls loved playing in the water. And seeing their unfettered delight in splashing in the water calmed me down after harried days....
