This week, EWG released an analysis that delved into the almost $1.5 billion in federal crop insurance indemnities sent to farmers for flooding damage in the Mississippi River Critical Conservation Area between 2001 and 2020.
“In the face of an intensifying climate emergency, taxpayer dollars should be used to take more marginal acres out of agricultural production, instead of continuing to subsidize farming on cropland that has already flooded repeatedly,” said EWG Midwest Director Anne Schechinger.
“It’s long past time for the Department of Agriculture to holistically look across all of its programs and evaluate how best to support climate-friendly farming decisions,” Schechinger said.
On Thursday, California’s acting state auditor released to the legislature a sweeping report blasting state regulators for failing to ensure steps were being taken to mitigate the risks of wildfires caused by damaged power lines owned and operated by Pacific Gas & Electric and other utilities.
The report found the California Public Utilities Commission “did not audit all utility service territories on a consistent basis, did not audit several areas that include high fire-threat areas, and has not used its authority to penalize utilities when its audits uncover violations.”
EWG broke down the cosmetic ingredient lilial, which was recently banned in the European Union. Lilial has been identified as having endocrine-disrupting properties – it can interfere with natural hormone functions and may pose risks to fertility and fetal development.
Earlier this week, Californian regulators announced a maximum contaminant level for hexavalent chromium, the notorious “Erin Brockovich” carcinogen, in drinking water. The limit, 10 parts per billion – 500 times the state’s public health goal – falls short of what’s needed to protect people from the threat of the contaminant.
“We know exposure to incredibly low concentrations of chromium-6 could pose health issues,” said Tasha Stoiber, Ph.D., a senior scientist at EWG. “Too many communities in California have drinking water with potentially harmful levels of this carcinogen. People have a right to clean and affordable drinking water served by community water systems and wells.”
And finally, an analysis published by Consumer Reports this week found the toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS on dozens of food wrappers from major fast food chains. Commenting on the new findings, EWG Senior Scientist David Andrews, Ph.D., said, “The use of PFAS in food contact materials should end immediately and any detected contamination should be reduced as much as possible.”
Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.
Children’s health
Over the years, sunscreen shopping has been demystified, thanks to the Skin Cancer Foundation and the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. The Skin Cancer Foundation has a blue square Seal of Recommendation on the products that they trust, making shopping super easy. The Environmental Working Group has an online database where they assign a rating to various products in order to measure their toxicity level and safety.
Cellular and wireless radiation
A letter from Environmental Working Group to California State Officials states “there is already adequate existing sound science for government to proceed with caution on the roll-out of the new technology. In particular, the results of the $25 million National Toxicology Program study (2016) that showed tumors in rats caused by a typical amount of heavy cell phone use are to be reckoned with.”
Cleaning products
Treehugger: 3 Swaps to 'Green' Your Spring Clean
The Environmental Working Group explains: "Although government scientific and regulatory agencies have focused considerable attention on chemicals suspected of causing cancer, they have devoted far fewer resources to evaluating substances that may be toxic to the brain and nervous system, the hormone system and other organs."
Skin Deep ® cosmetics database
Consumers can use the web browser extension Clearya to automatically screen makeup products they’re looking at for PFAS and other hazardous ingredients. The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Database provides safety reviews of thousands of cosmetics, sunscreens, and other personal care products.
Editorialist: These 10 Korean Essences Will Give Your Skin the Glow-up It Deserves
Hanskin Hyaluron Skin Essence…Plus, if you’re a clean beauty devotee, you’ll love that this K-beauty essence boasts a high safety rating from the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
InStyle: Shoppers Say This Face Serum Makes "Deep Wrinkles" Disappear
Take Dime Beauty's TBT Anti-Aging Serum: The brand lists every one of the ingredients' origin, use, and Environmental Working Group (EWG) hazard score, and shoppers say the blend is phenomenal for fine lines and deep indentations.
Miami Herald: Confused about ‘clean’ beauty products? Here’s what to know about this trending term
Flip the package over and read the ingredient list. If you are unsure about a particular ingredient, you can use free online resources like the Environmental Working Group’s cosmetic ingredients database to look them up, or ask your skincare professional.
Crop insurance payouts
Red River Farm Network: EWG Releases Analysis of Mississippi River Region
The Environmental Working Group is stepping up its criticism of the federal crop insurance program. According to an EWG report, farmers in the Mississippi River Critical Conservation Area received almost $1.5 billion in crop insurance indemnities between 2001 and 2020 due to flood damage. EWG says crop insurance does nothing to address climate change and it would be more beneficial to take frequently flooded farmland out of production.
Energy
Cal Matters: Audit: California utilities aren’t doing enough to reduce wildfire threats
“Given the nightmarish wildfires that have become part of normal life in recent years, California taxpayers would be right to ask if they’re paying for utility watchdogs or lap dogs at the CPUC,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, an environmental research advocacy organization that tracks wildfire issues.
Canary Media: Duke Energy’s solar plan questioned by North Carolina attorney general
This intervention by the state’s attorney general “shook up…the whole debate,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, a national nonprofit that has joined NC WARN in opposing the settlement plan. “We don’t have this analysis. That’s not a small thing.”
EWG VERIFIED®: Cleaners
HGTV: 15+ Natural Cleaning Products We Love
Made in-house at ATTITUDE's Canadian facility, this EWG Verified brand prioritizes sustainability using plant-based ingredients, recyclable packaging and planting a tree for every purchase.
EWG VERIFIED®: Cosmetics
Good Housekeeping: You Can Now Shop Mindfully for Bedding and Bath Thanks to Amazon Aware
The Amazon Aware bath and beauty collection includes everything you need to wash, rinse and repeat — in packaging designed with the future in mind. Formulas are EWG Verified — so they’re made without ingredients that the Environmental Working Group has identified as concerning — and certified "climate neutral" by ClimatePartner a third party that calculates a product’s carbon footprint and then help offset by way of investing in global tree planting projects.
POPSUGAR: 10 Beauty Brands We Love For their Eco-Consciousness
Well People is as pure as it gets with a EWG (Environmental Working Group) certification under its belt. It's also plant-powered and cruelty-free with Leaping Bunny and PETA certifications.
Food chemicals
Eat This, Not That!: What Is Titanium Dioxide? And Why It's in Your Food
As Aurora Meadows, MS, RD, a nutritionist for the Environmental Working Group, previously told Eat This, Not That!: "Titanium dioxide is a synthetic food colorant that is also used to make paints and consumer products bright white." Meadows also explained that the chemical is used in candies like Skittles in the same way a primer is used on a wall before you paint it.
Hexavalent chromium
E&E News: Calif. takes first moves to limit ‘Erin Brockovich’ chemical
The Environmental Working Group in a statement applauded California’s proposal but said it’s 500 times the state’s public health goal and “falls short of what’s needed to protect people from the threat of hexavalent chromium.”… EWG noted that in 2011, California’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment determined the public health goal for exposure to chromium-6 was much lower — at 0.02 ppb.
Inside EPA: Environmentalists Decry California Plan To Retain Disputed Chrome-6 MCL
“We applaud the state for finally moving forward with regulation of chromium-6 in water, but this MCL is still not sufficiently protective of Californians’ health,” said Bill Allayaud, California director of government affairs for the Environmental Working Group (EWG), in a March 22 press release. “We urge the state to do better and take immediate steps to adopt a level that more closely reflects the state’s public health goal.”
The Hill: California moves to regulate 'Erin Brockovich chemical,' but she says it's not enough
Just last month, the Environmental Working Group updated an interactive map showing that chromium-6 is found in the tap water of 251 million people across the U.S., surpassing levels that scientists have deemed safe. On that map are 918 new detections of the toxin in California that did not appear on a previous rendition of the map in 2016, according to the group.
(Links to EWG’s interactive map)
Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change + Health
The Healthy: Sustainable Meat: The Best and Worst Kinds, Ranked by a Sustainability Nutritionist
Part of what makes this so problematic is that lamb produces about 50 percent more methane gas than beef, as a lifestyle assessment by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) found. Reprinted by MSN,
Mercury in skin creams
The Guardian: Mercury found in skin lightening and anti-ageing creams sold online – study
The US Food and Drug Administration late last year issued an import warning on skin lightening products, but advocates say the agency has limited authority and resources. The Environmental Working Group, which is part of the ZMWG coalition, noted the cosmetics section of the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act was last updated in 1938, and should be modernized.
PFAS
Consumer Reports: How PFAS Can Harm Your Health
For decades, PFAS manufacturers have had information indicating that the chemicals may harm human health, according to reporting from the Environmental Working Group. But for the first 60 or so years that PFAS were in production, many people thought that potential harms were specific to workers exposed to the chemicals at an industrial scale, not the general public.
PFAS in food
“PFAS chemicals are a family of chemicals that are widely used in industrial and consumer product applications, and commonly used to make water-, grease- and stain-repellent coatings,” explains David Andrews, PhD, a senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit public health advocacy group based in Washington, D.C.
PFAS in water
David Andrews, a senior scientist at Environmental Working Group, says a federal standard needs to be set for acceptable levels of PFAS, rather than states setting their own. “What that leads to is disparities even just across state lines and across the country in term of what levels of these PFAS chemicals is acceptable in drinking levels,” Andrews said.
Seafood guide
The Sheridan Press (Sheridan, Wyo.): Column: Reducing toxic load
Never eating farmed salmon, avoiding eating larger carnivorous fish and using the Environmental Working Group Good Seafood Guide.
Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce ™
Eat This, Not That!: Here's How to Stop Aging Immediately, Say Experts
Avoid the Dirty Dozen – a list of twelve fruits and vegetables that the Environmental Working Group found to contain the highest levels of pesticide residues. Buy the Clean Fifteen – a list of fruits and vegetables that you can feel safe and good about eating, as advised by the Environmental Working Group.
EWG Guide to Sunscreens
Men’s Health: 12 Best Reef-Safe Sunscreens of 2022, According to Dermatologists
The Environmental Working Group also has rigorous standards in what they consider safe to use. Look for their logos on packages to help easily identify products that they deem safe.
Tap Water Database
Shape: Sydney Sweeney Says This Amazon Find 'Changed Everything' About Her Hair
The hardness of water varies by location, but you can learn more about your tap water situation by inputing your zip code into the Environmental Working Group (EWG) Tap Water Database.
Runner’s World: The 9 Best Filtered Water Pitchers
Depending on where you live, you’ll find different contaminants in your drinking water. The best way to check your local water source is online at the Environmental Working Group’s tap water database.