Consumer and public health groups are asking for a warning statement on alcoholic beverages to increase consumer awareness of the link between alcohol and cancer. They urge the federal government to begin a process to amend the warning statement on labels. Read more →

The latest data from the Environmental Crimes Project at the University of Michigan Law School shows a dramatic drop in pollution prosecutions during the first two years under President Donald Trump. Read more →

Although the world may seem dark right now with covid-19 now infecting even the president of the United States, we need to keep using caution and protecting ourselves. Stay home as much as possible, order groceries for pickup, and wear a mask. For the bloggers in our writing group, life goes on. Read more →

Twenty-four toxic ingredients, including mercury and formaldehyde, are now banned from cosmetics and personal care products in California. Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Toxic-Free Cosmetics Act on Wednesday. These ingredients are prohibited in cosmetics and personal care products in the European Union and other countries, but are still used in the U.S. Read more →

The WD-40 Co. is recalling about 130,000 bottles of WD-40 mildew stain remover. Pressure can build up inside the bottle and cause it to fall over and leak, posing a risk of skin irritation. No incidents or injuries have been reported. This recall involves includes only the 16- and 32-ounce bottles of X-14 mildew stain remover. The recalled bottles have a lot code between 20052 O and 20127 O, which can be found on the back of the bottle. Read more →

Bayer agreed to pay $10 billion over claims its herbicide Roundup causes cancer in people in a settlement announced Wednesday. Most of the money will be sent to four leading plaintiffs’ law firms, who will distribute it to nearly 100,000 clients who were diagnosed with cancer after prolonged use of the weed killer. Read more →

If you’re going to leave your home and go outside, remember to protect your skin from the sun’s rays. To help consumers select a sunscreen, the Environmental Working Group has released its 14th annual “Guide to Sunscreens.” Researchers rated the safety and effectiveness of more than 1,300 SPF products – including sunscreens, moisturizers, and lip balms – and found that only 25 percent offer adequate protection and don’t contain worrisome ingredients such as oxybenzone, a potential hormone-disrupting chemical that’s readily absorbed by the body. Despite a delay in finalizing rules that would make all sunscreens on U.S. store shelves safer, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration is completing tests that highlight concerns with common sunscreen ingredients. Last year, the agency published two studies showing that, with just a single application, six chemical active ingredients, including oxybenzone, are readily absorbed through the skin and could be detected in bodies at levels that could cause harm. Read more →

Gas prices continue to increase across the country with nearly every state’s average increasing by an average of 4 cents. At the start of the Memorial Day work week, the national gas price average is $1.87. The last time the national gas price average leading into the holiday was under $2 a gallon was in 2003. That year motorists paid, on average, $1.50 to fill-up. “Gas prices around Memorial Day have not been this cheap in nearly 20 years,” said Jeanette Casselano, AAA spokesperson. “However, as the country continues to practice social distancing, this year’s unofficial kick-off to summer is not going to drive the typical millions of Americans to travel.” Read more →

The Trump administration released a final rule Tuesday rolling back auto fuel efficiency standards, which will let cars and light trucks emit about 1 billion more tons of carbon pollution over the lifetime of the vehicle fleet than under the standards set by the Obama administration. “This is one of the most reckless and unconscionable decisions made by any president, and doing it in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis is doubly insidious,” said Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group. The Obama-era fuel standards were the single largest effort by the federal government to fight global warming and the health hazards of carbon dioxide emissions, according to a New York Times article. Several automakers supported the standards, which required them to increase fuel efficiency to 54 miles per gallon by 2025. Under the Trump rollback, vehicle fleets will be required to average about 40 miles per gallon. Read more →

I’m working on my book about my journalism career, so these days of staying at home are going by quickly for me. I have plenty of food (and toilet paper) and just found out I can order groceries, expect frozen food, from my local food co-op. I was ready to try Safeway or Fred Meyer thinking eating nonorganic food would be a lesser risk than going to the co-op to shop. Then, I wrote about the Dirty Dozen, a list of the produce with the highest pesticide residues offered yearly by the Environmental Working Group. Topping the list are strawberries, spinach, and kale. The EWG recommends that whenever possible, consumers purchase organic versions of produce on the Dirty Dozen list. Raisins, which hadn’t been tested by the U.S. Department of Agriculture since 2007, had the most pesticide residues. The EWG recommends eating organic raisins or prunes. Prunes, USDA tests found, had much lower pesticide residues than either conventional and organic raisins. Read more →