Search

Areas of Focus

Expand All
Areas of Focus
 

Displaying 457 - 480 of 7372

Research

Ethanol’s Federal Subsidy Grab Leaves Little For Solar, Wind And Geothermal Energy

As Congress and the incoming Obama administration plan the nation's next major investments in green energy, they need to take a hard, clear-eyed look at Department of Energy data documenting corn-based ethanol's stranglehold on federal renewable energy tax credits and subsidies. Solar, wind and other renewable energy sources have struggled to gain significant market share with modest federal
Food & Water

Milestone Measure to Advance Food Safety Passes Congress

The nation's food safety system is responsible for 3,000 deaths each year, and 48 million illnesses annually , according to newly released data from the federal Centers for Disease Control. Landmark...
Research

Shopper's Guide to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs uses 75 percent less energy than its incandescent counterpart, lasts up to 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb. But all CFL bulbs aren't equal. Some have lower mercury content than others, and some last much longer. Unfortunately, you can't tell the best of the best by their labels - or the U.S. government Energy Star logo. Some Energy Star labelled
Toxic Chemicals
Conservation

Three Top Scientists Honored with Prestigious Heinz Award

Washington, D.C. -- Among this year's recipients of the prestigious Heinz Family Philanthropies Global Change Awards are three preeminent scientists working to advance our understanding of the impacts...
Research

FDA's Midnight Mischief Heightens Mercury Risk to Pregnant Women, Infants

Fish is loaded with valuable nutrients, including protein, iron, omega-3 fatty acids, which reduce harmful cholesterol, lower blood pressure and prevent blood clots, and selenium, a trace mineral that helps the body prevent cellular damage. But some ocean-dwelling fish also contain high levels of mercury, a powerful neurotoxin that is especially dangerous to the fetus and infants.
California

Fracking for Natural Gas and Oil May Have Broken the Law

WASHINGTON – August 5, 2010. More than 25 conservation and community organizations from across the United States asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and a congressional committee to...
Energy

EWG: Nadler Mass Transit Amendment Right on the Money

New York Congressman Jerrold Nadler's amendment to the House version of the stimulus package would boost federal investment in much-needed mass transit to $12 billion and make a major contribution to...
Mercury
Household & Consumer Products
Energy

Lighten Up In 2009

An EWG investigation called “Lighten Up in ‘09” has identified seven compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulb lines that trump the rest, with much lower levels of the toxic chemical mercury and lifespans...

Cosmetics

EPA Guts Safety Standards for Pesticide at Request of Manufacturer

At the request of a single manufacturer - Edwards-Councilor Co., Inc. of Virginia Beach, VA - the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has weakened federal safety standards for a toxic chemical that...

BPA

Chemical Industry Wrote FDA’s Glowing Assessment of BPA

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today that internal documents from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) show that an agency task force assessment of the toxic plastics chemical bisphenol-A...
Water

Bottled Water Lobby’s Misinformation Campaign

Yesterday, the lobby group for the bottled water industry used untruths, misleading statements and claims that were outright wrong in its attempt to dispel a study by Environmental Working Group (EWG)...
Toxic Chemicals
Water

PRESS Release -- Chemical additives in bottled water plastics

An Environmental Working Group investigation found that the recycling code 1 PET plastics contain numerous chemical additives, numerous manufacturing impurities and degradation byproducts, with 90...
BPA

Conflict of Interest Cloud Hangs Over FDA

With yet another conflict of interest swirling around the Bush administration's assessment of potential health risks from exposure to the toxic plastic chemical bisphenol-A (BPA), Environmental...
Research

The Unintended Environmental Impacts of the Renewable Fuels Standard

The Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS) in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 mandates a dramatic increase in the use of biofuels in transportation. The RFS mandates significant increases in biofuels – corn, advanced, cellulosic and biodiesel. A “conventional biofuel” is ethanol derived from corn. “Advanced biofuels” are renewable fuels derived from feedstocks other than corn and that
BPA

FDA Insists Toxic Sex Hormone and Plastics Chemical BPA, Good for Babies

At an open meeting today, officials from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) came under increased fire for the agency's position that bisphenol A (BPA) - the artificial sex hormone and plastics...
Flame Retardants

Young Children in U.S. Among World’s Most Polluted With Fire Retardants

In the first nationwide investigation of chemical fire retardants in parents and their children, Environmental Working Group (EWG) found that toddlers and pre-schoolers typically had 3 times more of...
BPA
Household & Consumer Products

Shady Industry Campaign Kills Calif. Ban on BPA in Baby Bottles

Bowing to a deceptive, no-holds-barred campaign by the chemical industry, the California State Assembly has failed to approve a bill that would have made the state the first in the nation to remove...
Research

Pesticide in Soap, Toothpaste and Breast Milk - Is It Kid-Safe?

With no assessment of health risks to infants, federal regulators have approved a hormone-disrupting pesticide, triclosan, for use in 140 different types of consumer products including liquid hand soap, toothpaste, undergarments and children's toys. This exposure has been allowed despite the fact that the chemical ends up in mothers' breast milk and poses potential toxicity to fetal and childhood
Research

Is Your Bottled Water Worth It?

When you want to know what's in your tap water, look at your local water utility's website. You'll find the source of the water and any chemical pollutants remaining after treatment.
Food & Water

Victory for Central Coast Water Drinkers

After more than three years of deliberation, California's Central Coast Regional Water Quality Board has enacted new comprehensive rules requiring area farm operations to curb nitrate and pesticide...

Toxic Chemicals
Dioxin

EPA Dioxin Assessment: Essential Advancement for Human Health

The Environmental Protection Agency today released its safety standard for dioxin toxicity for risks other than cancer, a crucial advance in protecting Americans from exposure to this ubiquitous...

Research

Higher Ethanol Blends May Harm Health and Engines

In March 2009 corn ethanol producers asked for help from the federal government to expand their industry. Growth Energy, a consortium of ethanol producers, petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to allow 50% more ethanol in gasoline than is currently permitted, requesting approval for E15 fuel (a mixture of gasoline with 15% ethanol) (Growth Energy 2009).
Farm Subsidies

Secret CBO Score Shows Secret New Farm Subsidy Program Is a Budget Buster

Environmental Working Group President Ken Cook and Senior Vice President Craig Cox today demanded that the top agriculture committee leaders make public new cost estimates for a five-year farm bill...

Midwest

National Academies: Ethanol Worsens Greenhouse Gases

A new report by the National Academy of Sciences has found that corn ethanol production increases greenhouse gas emissions and damages soil, air, water and wildlife habitat. As well it says advanced...