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Frances Beinecke's Blog

Issues: Living Sustainably

Growing Green: Honoring Leaders Who Are Changing the Way We Farm and Eat

May 8, 2009

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably , Moving Beyond Oil

Tags:
agriculture, eatlocal, localfood, michaelpollan, simplesteps, sustainablefarming

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,...

Celebrating Green Leaders with Some SNL Humor

March 31, 2009

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Living Sustainably , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
davidzaslav, discovery, forcesfornature, organic, planetgreen, sethmeyers, SNL, stellamccarthy, waxman

Last night, in New York City, NRDC's held its 11th Annual Forces for Nature benefit, where we honor those who have made significant contributions to environmental causes.  This year's benefit, which was hosted by 30 Rock star Alec Baldwin -...

Two Critical Priorities Await Vilsack at Department of Agriculture

December 24, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming , U.S. Law and Policy

Tags:
agriculturedepartment, biofuels, farming, foodsafety, globalwarming, greentransition, obama, obamacabinet, sustainablefarming, vilsack, windpower

Once again, I greet another cabinet appointment by President-elect Obama's with respect. Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack is a strong choice to lead the Department of Agriculture. His guidance will be essential on a host of issues facing the department, from restoring...

What's Worse than Chemo? A Common Toxin that Renders It Less Effective

December 16, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably

Tags:
babybottles, bisphenol-a, BPA, breastcancer, chemotherapy, endocrinedisruptors, estrogen, plasticbottles, simplesteps, toxins, waterbottles

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...

Efficiency: The Global Warming Solution Hiding in Plain Sight

May 16, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Green Enterprise , Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
energyefficiency, globalwarming, greenenergy, liebermanwarner, markettransformation, mckinsey, solvingglobalwarming

 Winston Churchill wrote that “All great things are simple.” Yet in their simplicity, they are often overlooked. I have been thinking about this common blind spot since the Senate began considering the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act recently. When we talk...

Ecological Accounting: A New Measure of Economic Health

May 13, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
bridgeattheedgeoftheworld, capitalism, consumerism, extinction, globalwarming, gusspeth, WRI, yaleforestryschool

My day-to-day work life focuses on relatively concrete notions: passing global warming legislation, getting more energy efficient appliances into the hands of consumers, pushing automakers to produce more efficient cars. These are the tools I believe we must use to...

Why Endocrine Disruptors Should Be a Household Word

April 25, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Curbing Pollution , Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably

Tags:
babybottles, bisphenol-a, BPA, breastcancer, endocrinedisruptors, hardplastic, phthalates, plasticbottles, pregnancy, simplesteps

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...

A Garden Grows in The Bronx: How My Family Is Trying to Live Green

April 22, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Living Sustainably

Tags:
brainstormgreen, carbonoffsets, communitysupportedagriculture, CSA, earthday, factoryfarms, globalwarming, greenlifestyles, greenliving, organicfood, renewableenergy, simplesteps

Okay, so it’s Earth Day and time to reflect on personal practice. I’m at a Fortune Magazine conference called Brainstorm Green.  There is a lot of talk here about innovative solutions, but also about how some of the key environmental...

Calling a Toxin a Toxin: BPA Gets the Name It Deserves

April 17, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably

Tags:
babybottles, bisphenol-a, BPA, breastcancer, endocrinedisruptors, estrogen, healthcanada, nationaltoxicologyprogram, plasticbottles, simplesteps, syntheticestrogen

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...

Unlocking the Global Warming Gridlock: Congestion Pricing Speeds Ahead in NYC

April 2, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Living Sustainably , Solving Global Warming

Tags:
christinequinn, congestionpricing, globalwarming, globalwarmingsolutions, mayormichaelbloomberg, newyorkcity, newyorkcitycouncil

Like millions of New Yorkers, I ride the subway all the time. I view it as one of the small steps I can take as an individual to help curb global warming, since fewer cars on Manhattan streets mean fewer...

Breast Cancer and One of the Most Pervasive Chemicals of Modern Life

March 25, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably

Tags:
babybottles, bisphenol-a, BPA, breastcancer, plasticbottles, simplesteps, waterbottles

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...

Confessions of an Environmentalist

February 20, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Living Sustainably

Tags:
cfls, eatlocal, famersmarkets, greenliving, plasticbottles, prius, simplesteps, unionsquaregreenmarket

Last week, the New Times Style Section had a great article on the steps that suburbanites are taking to adopt green power, get kids to walk or ride their bikes to school safely, and reduce the impact of those perfect...

Read the Label Before You Run the Bath

February 15, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably

Tags:
babybath, babyproducts, babyshampoo, endocrinedisruptors, EPA, infertility, phthalates, simplesteps, toxins

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....

Keeping Green Alive in 08

February 13, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Living Sustainably , The Media and the Environment

Tags:
algore, billmckibben, environmentalmovement, greenlifestyles, rachelcarson, simplesteps

Last year was a momentous one for the environment. Green issues screamed across the headlines, as every company, every magazine cover, every state, every politician wanted to get on the green bandwagon. As someone who joined this movement in the early...

How to Get Safer Sushi

February 1, 2008

Posted by Frances Beinecke in Health and the Environment , Living Sustainably

Tags:
bluefintuna, china, coalfiredpowerplants, ericripert, mercury, norapouillon, pregnantwomen, salmon, simplesteps, sushi, tuna

Last week the New York Times caused a flap among fish lovers when it detected alarmingly high levels of mercury in several samples of tuna sushi bought from Manhattan restaurants and stores. The mercury in question comes largely from coal-fired...