Environment

Pesticide & Lawn-Care Groups Plan National Campaign

by Laura Miller — September 21, 2003 - 11:00pm

An alliance of pesticide and lawn-care industry associations and companies, calling itself the Evergreen Foundation (EF), has raised over $200,000 in seed money for a "national marketing campaign to consumers throughout the United States to promote the economic, environmental and lifestyle benefits of healthy landscapes and green spaces at home, work and play," Lawn & Landscape magazine reports. "Careful use of pesticides and fertilizers, prudent use of water, managing noise and air pollution are among the issues the EF plans to tackle in its campaign.

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Lawn & Landscape, September 22, 2003

Belated Courage

by Sheldon Rampton — September 9, 2003 - 11:00pm

Following recent revelations that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency misled the public about air quality in New York following the 9/11 terrorist attack, the New York Daily News has been crowing about how columnist Juan González "was the first to sound the alarm" that ground zero was a toxic dump after 9/11.

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Village Voice, September 10-16, 2003

Asbestos Bill Attracts Corporate Lobbyists

by Laura Miller — September 7, 2003 - 11:00pm

"Major US corporations ranging from Pfizer to Halliburton are mobilizing scores of public affairs professionals across Washington this fall in hopes that the new legislative session will bring an end to years of costly asbestos-related lawsuits," PR Week's Douglas Quenqua writes. "Working separately as the Asbestos Study Group (ASG) and the Asbestos Alliance (AA), hundreds of major companies that have either manufactured or used asbestos are lobbying for protection from more than 600,000 asbestos lawsuits now pending in US courts.

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PR Week, September 8, 2003

The Rollback Machine

by Sheldon Rampton — September 3, 2003 - 11:00pm

"Democrats and moderate Republicans alike are accusing Bush of having the worst environmental record in history -- of surreptitiously tearing down the regulatory framework that yielded vast improvements in the nation's air and water quality and land conservation over the last 30 years," writes Amanda Griscom. In response to growing criticism of its environmental policies, the administration has "made every effort to finesse its public-relations strategy, but none whatsoever to change its approach to environmental policies themselves. ...

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Grist, September 4, 2003

EPA's Revolving Door

by Laura Miller — September 2, 2003 - 11:00pm

"Two top Environmental Protection Agency officials who were deeply involved in easing an air pollution rule for old power plants just took private-sector jobs with firms that benefit from the changes," Knight Ridder's Seth Boronstein reports.

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Knight-Ridder, September 3, 2003

Dust and Deception

by Sheldon Rampton — August 25, 2003 - 11:00pm

"Last week," notes columnist Paul Krugman, "a quietly scathing report by the inspector general of the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed what some have long suspected: in the aftermath of the World Trade Center's collapse, the agency systematically misled New Yorkers about the risks the resulting air pollution posed to their health.

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New York Times, August 26, 2003

EPA Failed New Yorkers On Post-9/11 Air Quality

by Laura Miller — August 25, 2003 - 11:00pm

Nearly two years after the collapse of the World Trade Center, the Environmental Protection Agency's inspector general reports that the failure of EPA officials to properly inform New Yorkers of the dangers of the fallout can be traced to inside the White House. "The news that White House staff ordered the EPA to minimize potential health dangers near Ground Zero was bad enough," NY Daily News' Juan Gonzalez writes.

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New York Daily News, August 26, 2003

Lumber Company Launches Greenwashing Campaign

by Laura Miller — August 21, 2003 - 11:00pm

"Pacific Lumber, the Northern California redwood logging giant whose clear-cuts have made it among the most vilified companies in the West by environmental groups over the past 15 years, is getting a makeover," the San Jose Mercury News writes.

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San Jose Mercury News, August 22, 2003

Soccer Field Critics Cry 'Foul'

by Laura Miller — July 14, 2003 - 11:00pm

A former landfill near Denver is being turned into soccer fields to be used yearly by more than a half-million people, the Denver Post reports. That has county officials spinning a success story for waste management. But public health advocates are crying "foul." The site, which is part of a several million dollar containment project, will also include a dog park and the county's hazardous household waste facility. "You'll be able to run your dogs, dump your hazardous waste and play soccer all in the same place," Jefferson County facilities manager Lee Suttie said.

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Denver Post, July 15, 2003

McDonald's Thinks It's 'Green'

by John Stauber — June 3, 2003 - 11:00pm

Inter Press Service reports that "The recent appointment of fast food giant McDonald's to the advisory board of an environmental group has drawn accusations of 'green washing' from environmentalists and led one board member to resign in protest. Paul Hawken, a well-known activist and environmentalist respected for his strong opposition to corporate globalisation, resigned two weeks ago from the Green Business Network... .

Main Source: 
Inter Press Service, The Guardian, June 4, 2003
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