I direct the Health Program, where I concentrate on the biggest toxic chemical pollutants in air, water, food, shelter and consumer products. This focus allows us to work on the pollutants that matter most to human health. I also work on determining whether specific chemicals cause harm, decisions that are important in driving government decisions and regulations.
Since 1981, I have worked on a wide range of environmental health advocacy, legal and policy matters, most notably including hazardous waste disposal problems and pollution prevention opportunities in chemical manufacturing plants. I have spearheaded NRDC’s toxic chemical pollution work in China, first in a comprehensive project on industrial mercury pollution there and now with a more broadly focused project directed at highly polluting factories in supply chains of multi-national corporations in China. I also direct NRDC’s global mercury pollution initiative, which seeks international agreement to reduce mercury use and pollution by 50 percent in 10 years.
Posted April 23, 2013 by Linda Greer in Health and the Environment
Few people think of the fashion industry as a heavy industry like steel or cement. However, the dyeing and finishing of fabric has an enormous environmental footprint, using large quantities of chemicals to pre-treat fabric and dye it the colors...continued→
Posted January 29, 2013 by Linda Greer in Health and the Environment
Lots has been published about the labor issues that Apple has faced over the past two years, but much less about the environmental problems in the company’s supply chain. That is certainly NOT because the IT industry has a paltry...continued→
Posted October 9, 2012 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Environmental Justice, Greening China, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably
Yesterday in Beijing, the Institute of Public and Environmental Affairs (IPE), a leading environmental NGO in China, released its second in a series of disturbing exposés about the severe water pollution problems caused by textile dyeing and finishing in China...continued→
Posted February 22, 2012 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Greening China, Health and the Environment
As Apple moves forward to address environmental problems in its supply chain, the opportunity is wide open to become a model for other companies to follow. As USA Today reports, Apple is moving forward with the Natural Resources Defense Council...continued→
Posted January 27, 2012 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Greening China, Health and the Environment
This week, the New York Times week published articles about Apple Computer ( here and here) which paint a grim picture about the prospects that manufacturing will ever move back to the U.S. and an even grimmer picture of life...continued→
Posted May 26, 2010 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Moving Beyond Oil, Reviving the World's Oceans
Dispersants are the hot topic about the gulf spill this week, and we are getting alot of questions from reporters about which dispersant is most toxic and whether BP has made the right selection. But the truth is that the...continued→
Posted March 4, 2010 by Linda Greer in Health and the Environment
As Congress gears up for chemical policy reform, key committees have been calling in experts for hearings to discuss the many possible dimensions of much-needed Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) reform legislation. Today I’m testifying in the latest of these...continued→
Posted March 13, 2009 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
In the last week, I’ve written about the urgent need for federal reform of the toxic chemical regulatory process in the United States. Today, I’ll wrap up my series with a plea for a special focus on endocrine disruptors, a...continued→
Posted March 11, 2009 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
One of the biggest opportunities in the area of toxic chemical regulation and reform is the ceaseless march of our scientific knowledge. In fact, as I previously noted, while government policy toward stemming the tide of toxic chemicals has stagnated,...continued→
Posted March 9, 2009 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
In the months after last November’s election, NRDC’s health program developed a list of more than 50 steps that the new administration needed to undertake quickly. Many of these steps address problems in the Environmental Protection Agency’s core chemical decision-making...continued→
Posted March 6, 2009 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
As I've noted previously, our bedrock law for the regulation of toxic chemicals -- the Toxics Substance Control Act -- is all but dead. In fact, the law is widely regarded as the greatest failure among the major environmental laws...continued→
Posted March 4, 2009 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
As I wrote earlier this week, our national system for regulating toxic chemicals is broken and desperately in need of repair. Luckily, five key developments have set the stage for the best opportunity to make significant gains on chemical policy...continued→
Posted March 2, 2009 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
Put simply, the U.S. system for regulating toxic chemicals is a failure. Chemical companies are not required to test the toxicity of their products. They are immune from reporting critical information to the public. And, most importantly, they are able...continued→
Posted February 24, 2009 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, Living Sustainably, U.S. Law and Policy
This month will distinguish itself as a period of heavy international focus for NRDC's Health program. In my previous blog, I described my travel for our China project, which addresses the textile sector, one of the country's most polluting industries....continued→
Posted February 21, 2009 by Linda Greer in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
In my line of work it always seems like there are 99 ways for things to go wrong and only one way for them to go right. This week, however, defying all odds, something really big went right on the...continued→
Switchboard is the staff blog of the Natural Resources Defense Council, the nation’s most effective environmental group. For more about our work, including in-depth policy documents, action alerts and ways you can contribute, visit NRDC.org.
