Next Tuesday you will have your chance to stand up and say enough is enough!

It’s that time of the year when political parties will be gathering for their precinct caucuses. Party caucuses are gatherings where you can influence your political party to support issues and solutions that are important to you. It is important to influence party platforms now, while we have the chance! All political parties are holding their precinct caucuses on Tuesday, February 7 at 7:00 PM.

Clean Water Action is supporting the resolution below to keep toxic chemicals out of children’s products. Minnesota has already banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups, but there many chemicals, such as formaldehyde and phthalates, that are in our baby crib sheets and our children’s toys. Congress continues to drag its feet on chemical policy reform and so Minnesota needs to take action and protect the health of our children.

Get a PDF version of the resolution that you can print and carry with you to the caucus.

You will need to have the Adobe Acrobat Reader properly installed to view PDF documents. You can get it free from Adobe.

Find your party caucus at the Secretary of State's website

Read the Scorecard!

the heroes and zeroes in the state house

In 2011, the majority in the current legislature added a new twist to this Lansing environmental doublespeak. Instead of simply opposing stronger protections like those proposed in Clean Water Action’s 2011 Water Protection Agenda, state lawmakers sought to dismantle our existing protections, often under the banner of “job creation.”

"Highlights" from the scorecard include:

• 67 Legislators who receieved a failing grade
• 58 Legislators who scored "0"
• House Leadership passed H.R. 136 - a symbolic vote in favor of the recently rejected Keystone XL Pipeline
• The Legislature failed to advance any of the safeguards outlined in our 2011 Water Protection Agenda

Read our press release and download the full scorecard here. Then join the fight for our clean water progress and email Nic Clark to find out what you can do to hold our legislators accountable!

Keep Our Clean Water Progress Moving!

our wetlands and streams are at risk.

the president can do something about that.
Today, nearly 20 million acres of wetlands are at risk. Because they lack protection under the Clean Water Act, these vital parts of our water infrastructure are vulnerable to destruction by unaccountable polluters. The President has proposed to fix this problem and protect ALL of our wetlands. We support him and we need you to join us. Here's why:

• Wetlands protect us from floods – one acre of wetlands can hold 1 million gallons of floodwaters
• They provide critical habitat for fish and wildlife
• Wetlands provide opportunities for outdoor recreation and support local economies

The solution is simple: update the Clean Water Act to cover ALL wetlands. The President and the EPA have a plan to do that. We just need to make sure they know how much you support protections for our wetlands.

Help us continue our clean water progress and contact the President today! 

the first annual clean water

action connecticut benefit

Join us as a Sponsor Today!!

Come celebrate our 2011 victories and learn about our plans for 2012! Enjoy festive beverages and a buffet of tasty treats donated by local restaurants and stores! Visit the beautiful Charter Oak Cultural Center, and celebrate a year of hard work for public health and the environment!  We'll be joined by State Senator Beth Bye and Bryan Garcia, President of the Connecticut Clean Energy Fund.

To sign on as a sponsor

To purchase tickets or make a contribution

is poised to become the first state to

ban the foam!

You wouldn’t use something if you knew that it was a carcinogen, would you? You might be, every day.  Popularly known as Styrofoam™, polystyrene foam take-out containers leach a carcinogen (styrene) into food and beverages when heated.  California is on the verge of passing the first statewide ban on polystyrene in the nation. 

Clean Water Action is fighting foam in California.  Our 2011 litter study found that 68% of trash on urban streets comes from take-out food packaging. Foam containers are light-weight and blow away before street sweepers and litter pickers can get to them. Foam breaks apart into small pieces and flows through storm drains to waterways, ending up as the most pervasive form of beach litter in California.

Governor Christie

Trenton, New Jersey – Today New Jersey Governor Chris Christie vetoed the New Jersey Ban Bill (S-2576), flying in the face of the public and the New Jersey Legislature and forfeiting the opportunity to make New Jersey the first state to ban hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” in modern times.  During the Senate’s session August 25, the Governor issued a conditional veto (CV) that set a one year moratorium on fracking in the State.  Environmental groups dismissed the moratorium as meaningless and vowed to work for an over-ride of the CV.  The Frack Ban Bill arose out of a public rallying cry for pro-active action by the State to prevent the water, land and air pollution that is occurring everywhere where fracking is being used to extract natural gas from deep geologic formations such as Marcellus and Utica Shale.     

 Support a strong Electric Car Industry!

Electric vehicles are the future of the automobile industry and a key to innovative leadership in 21st-century technology and manufacturing. Our state pioneered the auto industry and now we stand in the vanguard of its future.

Take Action today! Sign the petition to Governor Snyder and our Legislators

Clean Water Fund and Clean Water Action are taking the trash out of waterways and reducing the plastic burden on the environment and public health. The extent of trash's impact on our water is stunning. In 1999, a voyage across the North Pacific Ocean by the Algalita Marine Research Foundation's Capt. Charles Moore focused the world's attention on the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch". Our trash gets caught in a "gyre," or a concentric pattern of ocean current accumulates. The result is the Garbage Patch - vortex from which there is no exit. It spans most of the ocean from our West Coast to China. 

See a news report on Taking Out the Trash and Learn about the sources of the problem and trash entering San Francisco Bay.

post by Christine LeMieux, Global Warming and Energy Programs Coordinator

While media headlines as of late are dominated by the latest healthcare happenings on the Hill, progress on climate and energy legislation continues. Both issues are related to critical questions about how we will take care of our public health and our economy in the coming decades. Over the past month, 6 Senate committees have held hearings and action is expected after Congress returns from recess in September.