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“Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature&#8212 the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.” &#8212 Rachel Carson Rachel Carson was born May 27, 1907 and died on April 14, 1964&#8212 at age 57&#8212 of breast cancer. She wrote Silent Spring , credited with starting the current environmental movement. Ms. Carson was alarmed by the hundreds of new chemicals, particularly synthetic pesticides, that were being introduced into the environment each year. The effects of these chemicals on human health and the environment was not known, but even in the course of her lifetime, Ms. Carson observed the "silencing" of spring&#8212fewer birds, bees, butterflies and other life. She was villified by chemical manufacturers, not accustomed to being challenged, especially by a woman. She continued to ...

We've been hearing about the dangers of brominated flame retardants for awhile now, yet there was always the assumption that they served some purpose. Nicholas Kristoff's column in the 5/20/12 New York Times, " Are You Safe on that Sofa? " tells us the truth about these chemicals and how they became so widely used. In his words : It turns out that our furniture first became full of flame retardants because of the tobacco industry , according to internal cigarette company documents examined by The Tribune. A generation ago, tobacco companies were facing growing pressure to produce fire-safe cigarettes, because so many house fires started with smoldering cigarettes. So tobacco companies mounted a surreptitious campaign for flame retardant furniture, rather than safe cigarettes, as the best way to reduce house fires. The documents show that cigarette lobbyists secretly organized the National Association of State Fire Marshals and then guided its agenda so that it pushed...

A a group of elementary school children in California are campaigning to get Crayola to take back used markers and recycle the components. Inspired by their teacher, the fifth graders set up an online petition called Crayola: Make Your Mark . So far they have gathered over 60,000 signatures. The petition states: "Every year, Crayola makes about half a billion markers — enough markers to wrap around the earth more than three times! — and sells them all around the world. Millions of kids use and love Crayola products — including the students at Sun Valley School, where I volunteer. That's why we're asking Crayola to make sure these markers don't end up in our landfills, incinerators and oceans." Sometimes the environmental problems we face seem overwhelmming and solutions unobtainable. Yet tackling the issues one bit at a time, as these students are doing, can make a real difference.

Hawaii became the first state in the nation to ban the distribution of plastic bags at checkout counters. Rather than passing statewide legislation, the ban took effect county by county. This week Honolulu joined Hawaii's three other counties that had already passed bans. The county law bans non-biodegradable plastic bags at checkout as well as paper bags that are not at least 40 percent recycled. The legislation is the result of two years of rallies and lobbying, organized by the Sierra Club. Retailers in Honolulu County have until July 1, 2015, to make the change. Kauai and Maui counties already enforce bans, while Hawaii County's ban will become effective on January 17, 2013. Treehugger notes that there are loopholes in the bill. For instance, plastic bags can still be used to package loose items (produce, grains, coffee, etc.), prepared foods, frozen foods, flowers and prescriptions. The Sierra Club will continue consumer education to encourage the use of reusable bags i...

GrowNYC is opening new food scrap and textile drop-off sites this spring! Celebrate spring cleaning by starting food scrap collection in your kitchen and culling unwanted clothing or linens— ripped or torn is fine—from your closets. If you have questions about what you can bring, see GrowNYCs FAQs . The Grand Army Plaza Greenmarket will be accepting textiles on Saturdays from 8am to 4pm and food scraps on Saturdays from 8am to 3:30pm. The Carroll Gardens Greenmarket will be accepting textiles on Sundays from 8am-2:30pm and food scraps on Sundays from 8am-1pm. Check the GrowNYC website for a complete list of collection days and times at various Greenmarkets in Brooklyn and Manhattan.

The Vermont House of Representatives voted 103-36 today to pass legislation that will make Vermont the first state in the nation to ban hydraulic fracturing for natural gas. Fracking is a method of extracting natural gas from deep in the ground by injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals under high pressure into dense rock formations such as shale, in order to crack the rock and release the gas. According to a minority staff report released last year by the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, more than 650 commonly used fracking products contain chemicals that are "known or possible human carcinogens , regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act, or listed as hazardous air pollutants." While New York State has not taken this step, many towns have acted to ban or delay any fracking in their area. On April 27, Bethel became the most recent town in upstate New York to ban fracking. This interactive map shows the locations of the 100 town...