MORE CANCERS IN WASHINGTON

Washington residents have a higher-than-average risk for manycancers associated with persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs), saysWashPIRG, the public-interest research group (www.washpirg.org). Thegroup says industries like oil refineries and pulp mills have“...discharged them into the environment for decades.... For somepeople, the cancer risk from exposure to PBTs is as high as one in100.... The effects on wildlife are more obvious. Columbia Riverotters have been observed with physical deformities as a result of thepollutants and suffer reproductive problems like low sperm count.Washington ranks sixth in the nation for highest levels ofcarcinogenic discharges into waterways...and 13th highest fordischarges of PBTs.... 59 percent of the state’s rivers, 35 percent ofits lakes and 65 percent of its estuaries are not safe for swimming orfishing. Drinking water supplies have also been affected.... 2.1million people in Washington drew their drinking water from sourcesthat were cited for health standard violations by the EPA.” Industryhas repeatedly persuaded the Department of Ecology to foregoregulatory action, but in a victory for activists, a review isscheduled to take place.

WASHINGTON HAS MOST POLLUTING SCHOOL BUSES

(ENS)-A recent study by the Union of Concerned Scientists showsthat the most polluting school buses are in the states of Washingtonand California. Most states rely on diesel school buses to transportchildren, yet no state monitors the amount of pollution released fromthe buses or requires school districts to purchase low emission buses.“California and Washington’s fleets were the worst in the country,”said the author of the report, titled Pollution Report Card:Grading America’s School Bus Fleets. “In a single year, America’saverage school bus emits as much soot as 125 cars,” the UCSspokesperson added. America’s school bus fleet emits almost 95,000tons of smog-forming pollution and more than 3,000 tons of soot everyyear. Diesel soot is small enough to evade the body’s defenses andlodge deep in children’s lungs, increasing the likelihood of asthma,chronic bronchitis, heart disease and even premature death. The reportis at www.ucsusa.org/publications/PollutionRptCard.pdf

LOVE CHOCOLATE, HATE SLAVERY

The Seattle Chapter Fellowship of Reconciliation and othergroups are campaigning to Stop Child Slave Labor and Poverty Wages inthe Chocolate Industry. Over 40 percent of the world’s chocolate comesfrom Ivory Coast where child slaves as young as nine years old work inthe fields. The groups gathered signatures on Valentines Day to giveto the See’s candy company as part of a nation-wide effort led byGlobal Exchange to make Fair Trade Chocolate available. For more onthis go to Global Exchange www.globalexchange.org/cocoa or Fellowshipof Reconciliation, 206-789-5565.

FRANCE, SWEDEN GO ENVIRONMENTAL

(ENS)-France should promise its citizens a “protected andpreserved” environment as a constitutional right, French PresidentJacques Chirac said recently. He said five environmental principlesshould be the law of the land. These are: environmentalresponsibility; the precautionary principle; integration ofenvironmental issues into all sectors; damage prevention; and citizenparticipation. He added that energy policy is one of the chief issuesthe government must face if it is to improve the environment. Chiracrepeated his support for the creation of a global environmentalgovernance body that would be modeled on the UN World HealthOrganization.

Sweden is taking steps to become the world’s most environmentallysustainable nation by 2010. By the target date, emissions of nitrogenoxides and volatile organic compounds are to be cut by 44 percent;thousands more miles of forests and 300 wetlands are to be protected;nitrogen discharges to the Baltic Sea are to be cut by at least 30percent; lake and river acidity will be cut; half the entire waterenvironment is to be placed under long term protection; oil dischargesto the sea are to be negligible; at least 50 of the 100 high-prioritycontaminated sites will be cleaned.

KEEP TELLING THE CORPORATIONS

A WFPer wrote to Trader Joe’s saying their products lookedgreat, but she wasn’t interested in buying them because most aren’torganic and don’t eschew genetically modified ingredients, which mayharm human and animal health and the environment. Trader Joe’s repliedin a letter calling attention to its Web site statement that“Effective immediately [Nov, 2001] we will work with any new vendor toproduce private label products for Trader Joe’s without geneticallyengineered ingredients. Our goal for existing private label productsis to have all such products reformulated, if necessary, and certifiedwithin one year.” The lesson is, keep writing to the corporationsdemanding products that are safe for farm workers, the environment andhealth. They are listening!

DON’T DRINK BOTTLED WATER

(ENS)-The conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)is urging consumers to forego bottled water for the sake of theenvironment. WWF commissioned a study that showed that despite sellingfor up to 1,000 times the price of tap water, bottled water may be nosafer or healthier than tap water in many countries. Yet it is thefastest growing drink industry, representing an annual volume of 89billion liters and an estimated US$22 billion. There are morestandards regulating tap water than bottled water, the study noted.“Our attitudes towards tap water are being shaped by the pollutionwhich is choking the rivers and streams, which should be veins oflife,” said the director of WWF’s Living Waters Campaign. “We mustclean up and properly protect these waters at source, and not just atthe treatment works, so that we can all rest easy in drinking from thetap.” The study says that while bottled water is generally safer inareas where tap water may be contaminated, boiling or filtering localwater renders it safe at a much lower cost. Every year 1.5 milliontons of plastic are used to bottle water, and toxic chemicals can bereleased during the manufacture and disposal of the bottles the studysays.

YELM, WA, RECYCLES ALL WASTEWATER

(ENS)-Yelm, WA is now reusing 100 percent of its treatedwastewater. The town south of Seattle uses the recycled water toirrigate landscaping at churches, parks, a football field and oneresidence. The water also is added to streams and is used to rechargewater underground at a city wetland park that includes a catch andrelease fishpond for rainbow trout. The state Department of Ecologysays Yelm is a role model for the rest of the state on how toaccommodate the increasing water demands.