Last year the Department of Energy, which co-administers the Energy Star certification program with the EPA, admitted that it allows many companies to certify their goods themselves. That was somewhat worrying, but nothing like what happened earlier this year when government auditors successfully got ludicrously power-hungry designs approved for the Energy Star label. The EPA and Energy Department have responded by announcing a new, stricter certification process. [More]
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Report: Lack Of Limits, Oversight, Lets Tainted Meat Out Into Market
By 4.13.10
A new report issued by the Dept. of Agriculture’s Office of the Inspector General says that tainted meat is making its way to your dinner plate because of a combination of inter-departmental squabbling and a lack of general oversight by the regulatory agencies involved. [More]
Energy Star Program Relies On Honor System For Some Products
By 10.19.09
Your new washer, dryer, fridge, monitor, or TV set may have an Energy Star label on it, but it turns out that nobody is making sure that means anything, reports the New York Times. Our parent organization Consumer Reports pointed out that this was a problem a year ago.
EPA And Academics Fight Over Notifying Public Of Weed-Killer In Drinking Water
By 8.25.09
Atrazine—a widely-used herbicide—is one of those chemicals for which there is no evidence it will kill you or give you cancer or make your eyes fall out. It’s true that it’s been linked to egg production in male frogs, but I think we can all agree that frogs pretty much want to mutate and will apparently do so at the slightest chemical nudge. The question for Americans is, should the EPA have notified affected citizens in the four states where atrazine has exceeded federal safety limits? Because it didn’t.
Cash4Clunkers Admin Responds To MPG Switcharoo, Says Nothing
By 7.29.09
PREVIOUSLY: EPA Tweaks Official MPGs Prior To Cash4Clunkers, Shafting Some (Photo: morsteen)
Is Bottled Water Safer Than Tap Water? Please…
By 7.12.09
Bottled water isn’t any safer than tap water, and could actually be more dangerous, according to a report from the Government Accounting Office. The big difference lies in the government regulator: tap water is covered by the Safe Water Drinking Act, administered by the aggressive and powerful Environmental Protection Agency, while bottled water falls under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act overseen by the powerless anything-goes industry-lovers over at the Food and Drug Administration.
Nighttime Itching? Bed Bug Infestations Up 500% Worldwide
By 4.20.09
Call it the Twilight phenomenon. The EPA held its first ever “bed bug summit” last week, to discuss the rise in infestations of the tiny nocturnal bloodsuckers. There was talk of more ‘bed bug task forces’ in big cities, possible federal research into new technology such as steaming or freezing the bugs, and lots of icky close-ups of parasites.
By 1.26.09
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President Obama has ordered the EPA to allow states set their own fuel-efficiency standards (fourteen states had begun the process when President Bush put a stop to it a couple of years ago.) He’s also asked the DOT to “develop higher fuel-efficiency standards automakers would have to follow.” [USA Today]
EPA Moves To Ban Potentially Dangerous Pesticide From Domestic And Imported Food
By 7.25.08
The EPA has announced that it intends to ban a pesticide, carbofuran, from both domestic and imported food because of the danger it poses to “general population” particularly small children. The pesticide isn’t commonly used in the United States but is popular in developing nations and is sprayed on “crops including rice, bananas, coffee and sugar cane,” according to the Washington Post.
Recalls: Scotts Caught Selling Fertilizer With Invalid EPA Registration Numbers
By 5.30.08
Apparently, Scotts forgot that they were supposed to register their fertilizer with the EPA because they were caught selling products that not only had never been registered, they had “invalid” registration numbers printed on the packages and some products had misleading labels with inadequate safety instructions. Whoooops.
Drugs In The Water No Big Deal, Says NYC Official
By 4.8.08
In regards to a headline grabbing AP investigation that found the drinking water of major cities contained trace amounts of an array of pharmacopoeia, the deputy commissioner of New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection, “A person would have to drink one million glasses of water to get the dose of even one over-the-counter ibuprofen tablet or the caffeine in one cup of coffee…Even at eight glasses of water per day, this would take the average person over 300 years to consume.” So for those of you hoping to replace your medicine cabinet just by draining the Brita, sorry Charlie. However, there are no studies on the long-term effects to human of small exposure to a vast array of drugs, although, the Times notes, they have been shown to cause mutations in fish.
AP: 41 Million Americans Drink Water Contaminated With Antibiotics, Anti-Convulsants, Mood Stabilizers, And Sex Hormones
By 3.9.08
A soup of pharmaceutical waste spews from the faucets supplying drinking water to 41 million Americans, according to a disturbing study from the Associated Press. At least 24 major cities are affected, including New York, Washington, Boston Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Here are some of the key test results obtained by the AP:
By 1.2.08
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Today California sued the EPA over its refusal to let states enact their own greenhouse-gas laws. “Fifteen states plan to intervene on California’s behalf, including 13 of those that have either adopted or are in the process of adopting the rules. Delaware and Illinois, which have not passed the standards, also are part of the lawsuit.” [New York Times]
There Is No Law Or Regulation That Says Airplanes Have To Have Working Toilets
By 8.10.07
“We have no rules regarding restrooms,” U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Mosley said, suggesting that the Environmental Protection Agency be asked.
Hybrid Mileage Claims Spur Lawsuit
By 7.7.07
A California man shocked that his Honda Civic Hybrid’s gas efficiency didn’t match EPA estimates has decided to file a class action suit against Honda for false advertising. John True spent an extra $7,000 on the hybrid model after seeing advertisements that claimed average city fuel efficiency of 49 mpg. True was horrified to discover that after 6,000 miles of driving, he only averaged 32 mpg.
The lawsuit claims American Honda Motor Co. has misled consumers in its advertisements and on its Web site. The suit notes that while the Environmental Protection Agency and automobile window stickers say “mileage will vary,” some Honda advertisements read “mileage may vary.” That implies that it’s possible to get the mileage advertised, said William H. Anderson, a Washington, D.C., attorney for True.
Want To Drive In The HOV Lane Without Passengers? The EPA Has A Rule For You
By 5.20.07
The EPA has proposed a rule that would allow drivers of fuel-efficient vehicles to use the high occupancy vehicle lanes without bringing along those pesky carpoolers. Most states require at least two occupants for a vehicle to travel in the HOV lane.
