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!

Love Minnesota’s children? Help protect their health from toxic chemicals in toys, shampoo and other products. Join Clean Water Action and the Healthy Legacy Coalition on Valentine’s Day at the Minnesota Capitol!

This is just one of many events for the environment coming up in January and February.

We look forward to seeing you there.

frack attack across colorado's front range!

Northern Colorado, home base to Colorado Clean Water Action in Fort Collins, is in the midst of the biggest frack-ing boom in the United States. Weld County, just east of Fort Collins, has more active oil and gas wells than any county in the U.S, with nearly 18,000 wells. As a geologic formation called the “Niobrara Shale” is drilled for oil and gas, 10,000 to 20,000 more wells could be added.

Sen. Thomas Carper, Delaware’s senior U.S. Senator, is a lead sponsor of S. 972, the Clean Construction Act of 2011. The bill would require the use of existing technology to reduce diesel emissions from construction equipment. Diesel operations are not only the source of health-harming exhaust that seriously degrades air quality, but they also contribute significantly to global warming and the climate crisis.

cleaning the anacostia

The Anacostia is one of the ten most polluted rivers in the nation. For too long we have accepted that a polluted Anacostia has to be a reality for the District. However, under pressure from the EPA, the District Department of the Environment (DDOE) is finally dealing with the six most toxic sites along the Anacostia, one of which is Pepco's Benning Road power plant. On February 2, 2011, DDOE announced that it had reached a "consent decree" with Pepco that it believes will address the legacy of pollution at Benning Road (to learn more click here). The proposal is promising, as there have been six documented releases of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) from the site over the years. PCBS are known cuase developmental problems and are carcinogenic in humans and wildlife, for example two-third of all brown bull-head catfish (pictured above) in the Anacostia have tumors. 

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.     

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.