During a press conference this week, California Gov. Gavin Newsom expressed concern about a proposal to crush the state’s popular rooftop solar program. The plan has support from the state’s largest energy utility, Pacific Gas & Electric, and two other investor-owned electric utilities.
“We welcome the governor’s comments and respectfully urge him to use his voice and full authority to stop the ill-conceived plan,” said EWG President and California resident
Ken Cook. “It is clearly meant to increase profits for the utilities and crush the only competition they now face – the competition from Californians who are investing to install solar panels and, increasingly, battery storage on homes, businesses, schools and in communities.”
Earlier in the week, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack spoke to the Farm Bureau. EWG called out the decision by a top Biden administration official to speak to a group that espouses so many retrogade views.
Here’s some news you can use going into the weekend.
California solar net metering
“We urge the governor to use his bully pulpit to push regulators to start from scratch and take no action to curb rooftop solar until they fully examine the real reason why working-class families and communities are paying so much for power, and how they can be put at the forefront of the rooftop solar and storage revolution,” Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, said in a statement.
Newsweek: Elon Musk Calls Gavin Newsom's California Solar Tax a 'Bizarre Anti-Environment Move'
His comments were welcomed by Ken Cook, president of the Environmental Working Group, who urged Newsom to "use his voice and full authority to stop the ill-conceived plan."
In a statement released yesterday, the Environmental Working Group's president and California resident Ken Cook weighed in on Newsom’s statement: We welcome the governor’s comments and respectfully urge him to use his voice and full authority to stop the ill-conceived plan. It is clearly meant to increase profits for the utilities and crush the only competition they now face – the competition from Californians who are investing to install solar panels and, increasingly, battery storage on homes, businesses, schools and in communities.
Clean energy
The American Conservative: Burning The Forest For The Trees
Google “biomass” and “greenwashing” and you’ll see environmental groups lining up to assert that woody biomass is little more than a scam. That includes the Big Boys such as the Environmental Working Group, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and Greenpeace. They may be obsessed with inefficient intermittent energy technologies in wind and solar while eschewing all else, including nuclear, but their arguments against biomass are spot on.
Alternative proteins
Mashed: Aldi Shoppers Are Unimpressed With This Shopping Cart Boast
Given that meat prices have been skyrocketing throughout the pandemic for various reasons, as Environmental Working Group reports, perhaps that clarification helps explain the price for some would-be commenters.
BPA
Everyday Health: 8 Instant Pot Soup Recipes That Are Healthier Than Canned, and Nearly as Fast
Canned soups have been criticized because of the presence of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical used in can linings that leaches into the food inside. While the Can Manufacturers Institute reports that around 95 percent of canned foods no longer contain BPA, it’s unclear whether what has been used to replace the substance is any better, according to the Environmental Working Group.
Cleaning products
Apartment Guide: How To Green Clean Like A Professional: 10 Expert Tips You Must Try
Lastly, check out the Environmental Working Group. This nonprofit offers a comprehensive guide to healthy and green cleaning with over 2,000 featured products.
Skin Deep® cosmetics database
Byrdie: Can Adipeau Active Cream Actually Replace Filler?
With a favorable rating of 1.1 on the Environmental Working Group's website, Galanin says that 95% of the ingredients are edible and even used in food products. "There’s nothing you’re putting into your skin that you wouldn’t put in your body," he adds.
Honest: What Does Toner Do & Why Should You Use It?
Like all of our products, our Pollution Solution Purifying Toner is also certified Animal-Test Free by PETA and has been verified For Your Health by the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
Sierra Club: Just Say No to 1,4-Dioxane
The chemical can also be found in drinking water in areas where plastics, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), have been manufactured. In 2017, EWG’s Skin Deep database found at least 8,000 skin-care products may be contaminated with it.
Treehugger: The 8 Best Natural Shaving Creams of 2022
Our list steers clear of no-no’s such as artificial fragrances, phthalates, and parabens. We’ve also scoured non-profit EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, for high-ranked products listed, which meet strict safety and health, keeping you safe from unnecessary chemicals.
EWG VERIFIED®: Cleaners
Spy: The 10 Best Eco-Friendly Laundry Detergents for Cleaner Clothes and a Better World in 2022
This AspenClean detergent was the first to be certified by the activist organization Environmental Working Group (EWG) and is a safe, toxin-free laundry detergent that is fragrance-free, baby-safe, and hypoallergenic.
EWG VERIFIED®: Diapers
Elle: Kourtney Kardashian Launches New Charity 'This Is About Humanity'
She said, “Healthy Baby is a new organization that is run by moms and they have the first and only EWG(Environmental Working Group)-verified diaper." Reprinted by Daily Mail; Yahoo! Geo News;Head Topics United Kingdom; The News International
EWG stands for Environmental Working Group, a group of activists that advocates for healthier agriculture and safer chemicals for American consumers.
Farm subsidies
Fern’s Ag Insider: Today’s quick hits, Jan. 13, 2022
On Thursday at 11 a.m. ET, the public radio program 1A will discuss “how agriculture subsidies shape the food we eat.” Participants will include Anne Schechinger of the Environmental Working Group, John Boyd of the National Black Farmers Association, and Drew Swanson of Wright State University.
WAMU (American University): Here’s how agriculture subsidies shape the food we eat
Some $425 billion has been allocated for agricultural subsidies over the past 25 years according to the Environmental Working Group. Only a small portion of those funds are going to farms like Matt’s. The EWG estimates the top 1 percent of recipients receive 26 percent of all the money.
Healthy Living app
So, should you be wary of DMDM hydantoin in your products? Maybe if you're someone with sensitive skin as it is a known allergen. Luckily, however, the Environmental Working Group has made it easy to check the ingredients of your beauty products thanks to their Healthy Living app.
Nitrate
PennLive: Pennsylvanians have a right to clean water | Opinion
A 2020 Environmental Working Group investigation found elevated nitrate levels from fertilizer and manure within the tap water of large swathes of rural Pennsylvania, especially from well water sources.
PFAS in water
Environmental Working Group, an environmental research organization, reports 385 military sites "have contaminated drinking water or groundwater." A senior Defense Department official told CBS News they are working with the group to determine the most accurate data.
“PFASs are probably detectable in ‘all major water supplies’ in the U.S.,” according to an Environmental Working Group study, Ross reported. “What’s more, over 200 million Americans could be drinking water containing PFAS above a level EWG scientists believe is safe, according to the organization’s most recent findings.”
Seafood guide
The Healthy: Which Type of Salmon Is Healthiest? A Registered Dietitian Reveals
And more recent research indicates the levels of PCBs in farmed fish are in decline. A 2003 study conducted by the Environmental Working Group found PCB content five to 10 times greater in farmed fish than wild fish.
Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides in Produce™
This Week for Dinner: New Year’s Resolution “Back to Basics” + Week 733 Weekly Menu
If I were to prioritize my organic purchases to avoid pesticide residues, I would focus on organic versions of the Environmental Working Group’s dirty dozen list: strawberries, spinach, nectarin
EWG Guide to Sunscreens
New Hope Network: Badger co-CEOs talk goal-setting tactics and optimizing impact
It turned out that the year after we launched that product, the Environmental Working Group released their first sunscreen guide, and Badger was listed as No. 1 for safety and efficacy out of 700 sunscreens! So we were right at the forefront of creating a sunscreen safer for people and for coral reefs, now something that’s become mainstream.
What’s more, the Environmental Working Group’s latest report found that 75% of sunscreens don’t even meet their own protection claims, especially against UVA—leaving you vulnerable to sunburn, skin cancer and premature aging.
Tap Water Database
Grist: Federal agency flags 8 new substances that could give you cancer
“Legal does not necessarily equal safe,” the nonprofit Environmental Working Group said in a 2021 report that found elevated levels of water contaminants — including haloacetic acids — in drinking water supplies in Columbia, Missouri.
Provincetown Independent (Mass.): Water Commissioners Question Wellfleet’s ‘Poor’ Rating
Hood referred to a 2017 nationwide tap water report by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. Wellfleet was reported to have the lowest contaminant levels in Barnstable County, he said.
However, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit activist organization that focuses on water pollutants and other environmental contaminants, found that the amount of total trihalomethanes in the water tested from the city was significantly higher than the health guideline put out by the group.
1-Bromopropane
Common Dreams: EPA's First New Air Pollutant Addition in 30 Years Reveals Agency Failings: Critics
In a Thursday tweet sharing the Post's reporting, Environmental Working Group president Ken Cook also suggested the list addition was long-needed. "This isn't proof that our environmental laws are working," he said. "It's proof that they aren't."