Health Risks of Flame-Retardant Chemicals Require Policy Changes in CT, Nation, Report Says

The 2014 session of the Connecticut General Assembly is expected to include consideration of legislation designed to protect the public from potential health risks of flame retardant chemicals that are present in many consumer products.  Such a proposal, currently being developed, comes following a report from North Haven-based Environment and Human Health Inc. (EHHI), an organization of physicians and public health professionals, that calls on state and federal governments to institute new policies to protect the public from flame-retardant exposures that the researchers say “pose health risks to fetuses, infants, children and the human population as a whole.”

The comprehensive 107-page report, “Flame Retardants: The Case for Policy Change,” closely examines the health risks that flame-retardants pose to the general population and recommends sweeping policy changes to protect the public.

"It has become clear that flame-retardants are proving to be a health risk to both the human population and the environment,” said Nancy Alderman, president of Environment and Human health, Inc. “It is time for flame-retardants to be removed from all low fire-risk situations and products. As well, a certification program should be established where manufacturers certify the absence of flame-retardants, just as organic food programs certify the absence of pesticides.”

The report examines the history of flame-retardants and demonstrates the enormous scope of the problem, noting that flame-retardants “are now ubiquitous in our environment.”  The history of flame-retardant use in the United States is a story of substituting one dangerous flame-retardant for another, the report outlines. The country lived through decades when asbestos was used as a fire-retardant. Then when asbestos was proven too dangerous to be used, the country moved over to PCBs, and five decades later, when PCBs were deemed too dangerous for use, the country moved on to chlorinated and brominated flame-retardants.

The report points out that “the labeling of flame-retardant chemicals in consumer products is NOT required by Congress, EPA, FDA or the Consumer Product Safety Commission.  It is therefore impossible for consumers to avoid flame-retardants in their purchases.”  Sources of exposure cited in the report include carpets, mattresses, children’s and baby products, furniture, and electronics. 

In the 1970s, a flame-retardant called "Tris" was added to children's sleepwear. Tris was later found not only to be carcinogenic but also capable of being absorbed through the skin. Tris was finally banned in children's sleepwear in 1977, according to the report.  Tris is still used in many other infant products, such as crib mattresses, changing tables, nap mats, and infant car seats, the report indicated.

"Tris was, and remains, carcinogenic," said Dr. D. Barry Boyd, oncologist at Greenwich Hospital and Affiliate Member of the Yale Cancer Center.  There is ample evidence concerning the health risks from Tris to conclude that it should be removed from all infant products."

John Wargo, Ph.D., first author of the report and the Tweedy-Ordway Professor of Environmental Health and Political Science at Yale University, said, "Flame-retardants are not required to undergo health and environmental testing, and they are not required to be labeled on the products that contain them. Because exposures to flame-retardants carry health risks, they should only be used when the risk of fire outweighs the risk from flame-retardant exposures. When risk from fire is high, such as in airplanes, then the use of flame-retardants is warranted; when the risk from fire is low, flame-retardants should not be used."

Recent toxicological studies demonstrate that flame-retardants pose the greatest risk to the normal growth and development of fetuses, infants and children. "Manufacturers should start labeling their products so that consumers can understand when flame-retardants have been added," said Dr. Andrea Asnes, associate professor of pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine.

Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) is a non-profit organization composed of physicians, public health professionals and policy experts, dedicated to protecting human health from environmental harms. EHHI does not receive any funds from businesses or corporations.   The organization’s mission is “to conduct research to identify environmental harms affecting human populations, promote public education concerning the relationships between the environment and human health, and promote policies in all sectors that ensure the protection of human and environmental health with fairness and timeliness.

By promoting effective communication of environmental health risks to those exposed and to responsible public and private officials, EHHI hopes to empower individuals and groups to take control over the quality of their environment and be more protective of themselves and their families.  The report was issued in November 2013.  Among the recommendations :

• States should pass laws that protect their citizens from flame-retardant exposures.  Industry will always work to pre-empt states’ legal authority to set safety standards that are more stringent than those adopted by the federal government. States should have the right to protect their citizens when the federal government fails to do so.
• States should restrict flame-retardants in infant and toddler products.  Recent toxicological studies show that flame-retardants pose the greatest risk to the normal growth and development of fetuses, infants and children. Infants and small children’s body weight is so low that their exposures to flame retardants, in relation to their body weight, is simply too great. The health risks that all infants and children are experiencing, due to the federal law mandating that flame retardants be in many of their products, far outweigh the risk of fire.
• States should require that products containing flame-retardants be labeled.  Any product containing a flame-retardant should be labeled as such. Labels should include which flame-retardant has been used.
• States should promote fire-prevention programs.  States should invigorate their fire prevention programs. Promotion of fire prevention is the most effective, least expensive, least environmentally damaging priority our nation could pursue to reduce loss of health, life and property from fires. States should promote low-cost and highly effective early warning technologies. Smoke alarms save lives. They should be available to all, regardless of income status.
• States should offer opportunities to recycle electronic products.  Foam that contains flame-retardants remains a problem for landfills. State and local governments have primary responsibility for managing the disposal of solid and hazardous wastes. Most solid wastes in Connecticut are disposed of via incineration, but some are still placed in landfills. The broad failure to effectively recycle electronics, building materials, auto plastics and foam means that most products containing flame-retardants are released to the environment at the end of their life-cycle.

CT, NY, NJ Should Expect Unprecedented Flooding by Mid-Century, Scientists Predict

It will get worse, not better, for shoreline residents and businesses in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey within range of the Atlantic Ocean.  That’s the likely scenario based on newly completed research by a team of geoscientists who are predicting that the New Jersey shore will likely experience a sea-level rise -- about 1.5 feet by 2050 and of about 3.5 feet by 2100 – that will be 11 to 15 inches higher than the average for sea-level rise globally over the century.

That would mean that by the middle of this century, the one-in-10 year flood level at Atlantic City, for example, would exceed any flood level seen previously, including the natural disaster that was Superstorm Sandy.  The scientists suggest, based on their research, that “planners should account for rising sea levels,” noting that “where the consequences of flooding are high, prudent planning requires consideration of high-end projections” outlined in their study.

Geoscientists at Rutgers University and Tufts University base their projections in part upon an analysis of historic and modern-day records of sea-level rise in the U.S. mid-Atlantic region. Their research appears in the inaugural issue of the journal Earth's Future, published this month by the American Geophysical Union (AGU).

While much to the work centers on the New Jersey shore and The Battery in Lower Manhattan, Rutgers researcher Ken Miller told Connecticut by the Numbers that their analysis included both Montauk on Long Island and Bridgeport.  Since Connecticut lies on bedrock, Miller said, it will largely behave like The Battery in New York City.  “I believe that the projections for bedrock locations are applicable throughout Connecticut,” said Miller, a professor of earth and planetary sciences in Rutgers' School of Arts and Sciences. 

Miller collaborated in the study with colleagues Robert Kopp, Benjamin Horton and James Browning of Rutgers and Andrew Kemp of Tufts. Kemp, an assistant professor of earth and ocean sciences at Tufts since May, joined the faculty from Yale University, where he was a Postdoctoral Associate at the Yale Climate and Energy Institute (YCEI).  The new research builds upon a recent study by Kemp, Horton and others that reconstructed a 2,500-year record of sea level at the New Jersey shore. Horton is a professor of marine and coastal sciences in Rutgers' School of Environmental and Biological Sciences.

"It's clear from both the tide gauge and geological records that sea level has been rising in the mid-Atlantic region at a foot per century as a result of global average sea-level rise and the solid earth's ongoing adjustment to the end of the last ice age," Miller told Rutgers Today. "In the sands of the New Jersey coastal plain, sea level is also rising by another four inches per century because of sediment compaction -- due partly to natural forces and partly to groundwater withdrawal. But the rate of sea-level rise, globally and regionally, is increasing due to melting of ice sheets and the warming of the oceans."

The researchers suggest that “additional work is needed to integrate site-specific sea-level rise projections with storm tide statistics to guide planning decisions and investments that may have time frames of 20 years, 40 years, or longer.”  They indicate that sea-level rise in the mid-Atlantic region also results from changes in ocean dynamics. The researchers said sea-level rise could be higher -- 2.3 feet by mid-century and 5.9 feet by the end of the century -- depending on how sensitive the Gulf Stream is to warming and how fast the ice sheets melt in response to that warming.

The study found that the eight inches of climate change-related regional sea-level rise in the 20th century exposed about 83,000 additional people in New Jersey and New York City to flooding during 2012's Superstorm Sandy.  The research was supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.

Earth’s Future, with its inaugural issue, joins AGU’s prestigious portfolio of peer-reviewed research publications, including Geophysical Research Letters and Journal of Geophysical Research – Atmospheres. Both are ranked among the top ten most-highly cited research publications on climate change over the past decade.  The American Geophysical Union is dedicated to advancing the Earth and space sciences for the benefit of humanity through its scholarly publications, conferences, and outreach programs. AGU is a not-for-profit, professional, scientific organization representing more than 62,000 members in 144 countries.

Local Entrepreneur Brings Social Benefits to Coffee Sales with Innovative Product

It took root when he was a 9-year-old earning nickels and dimes at the Hartford Regional Market,  gained impetus at Hartford High School and was cultivated at the University of Richmond.  By the time Ray Fraser graduated college in 2011 with a business degree in marketing and finance, he was convinced that his life’s work would not center solely on making a profit, but on simultaneously making the world a better place.  He’s doing just that, one tree at a time.

With a relentless work ethic and an engaging, easy-going personal style, Fraser’s start-up business – growing rapidly in just a few months – is called Tree Sleeves.  His mission:  to produce and sell reusable cup sleeves that combine comfort and utility with charity – “to help eradicate the cycle of deforestation affecting our planet.”

 For every Tree Sleeve sold, a tree is planted in a part of the world affected by deforestation.  It is a simple but profound concept, and the reaction has been overwhelmingly positive from a rapidly growing roster of retailers and consumers.  With a retail price of only $2.00 - a Tree Sleeve is perfect for daily use while on the go, quite affordable, and reusable.

Fraser has never shied away from challenges – in fact, he has consistently sought them out since he first visited the local Regional Market and asked what he could do to earn some money.  Told he needed to dump some boxes, he did – and came away with a nickel for his efforts.  Thus began a working relationship – and first-hand glimpse of what it takes to succeed in business – that continued as a part-time job through high school.  (The pay improved somewhat over time.)

As a teenager, Fraser was an Eagle Scout (his Eagle project was organizing a blood drive accompanied by a canned food drive for a homeless shelter) and an athlete who excelled in football, wrestling and track.  He discovered a knack – and enjoyment – in working with people, as well as an aptitude for business.  He would be the first in his family to attend college, encouraged by his parents, a machinist and teacher who resettled in Hartford from the West Indies and took education and diligence seriously.  Missing a day of school for being sick, Fraser recalls, was simply not an option.

In college, he developed an affinity for brands with a cause, and in addition to working as a Resident Assistant on campus, had motivating internships with United Technologies in Connecticut and Saks Fifth Avenue in New York City.  Both would express interest in hiring him after graduation, but by senior year Fraser had decided to chart his own entrepreneurial path, the example of Tom’s Shoes founder Blake Mycoskie (the subject of a college research paper), among others, serving as his frame of reference.

“I had looked at the corporate ladder,” Fraser recalled recently, “and I wanted to have a bigger impact, to do more than just bring home a paycheck.  I wanted to expand my mind, and make a difference.”

Innovative Idea

After graduating from college and returning to Hartford, Fraser tried to develop an entrepreneurial business with friends that didn’t quite come together, stymied by software development issues.  Then one day in January, in a local Starbucks working on elements of that initial attempt at enterprise, the frequency which employees needed to empty trash cans overflowing with disposable cardboard sleeves caught his attention, and imagination.  He thought there must be a better way, and then went about inventing it.

“They’d empty the trash, and then two hours later they’d do it again.  The waste was astronomical.  When I looked into the numbers on paper sleeves, I was shocked.  We throw away 3 billion a year,” he emphasized.  “That translates into thousands of trees cut down needlessly each year.”

The traditional disposable cardboard cup sleevemakes carrying easier and holding the cup possible by providing an extra barrier to reduce the heat from the cup. Based on his extensive and resolute research, Fraser has done the disposable cup holder one better, with purpose.

It didn’t happen overnight.  He visited local coffee shops to talk to owners about their business, customers, and interest in a potential product.  He had informal conversations with friends, inquiring whether they’d buy a reusable sleeve, and what attributes would make it attractive.  (Being good for the environment was a recurring theme.) He scoured the internet in search of potential manufacturers, first in this country, then overseas.  He taught himself about nations that produce coffee, and learned of the challenges many face due to deforestation.

Building A Business

Fraser carefully nurtured relationships, engendering trust and crafting a business that he sees as having limitless potential – and enduring impact.  He developed and produced an attractive, lightweight design made of 100% food grade silicone, a reusable sleeve that makes going green easy.

Research completed and initial business relationships established, it was time to take a leap of faith.  With initial start-up funds borrowed, the 24-year-old ordered 1,000 silicon sleeves in July.  He was quite optimistic that he would be able to sell them to retailers.  But not certain.

After printing some promotional signs from his computer, buying handful of baskets at the local dollar store and a fistful of rubber bands at an office supplies store, Fraser set out to area coffee shops, bundles of product in hand.

One of the coffee shop owners he visited months previously to engage in speculative conversation was not surprised when he returned with a well-produced product – but he didn’t necessarily expect he’d be back.

“He was a nice polite young man, but I didn’t know that he’d actually do something.  We try to encourage renewables, so I thought I’d buy some, and if people liked the idea, they’d buy it,” said Bill Sze, owner of Jojo’s Coffee Roasting Company, with locations in Hartford and New Haven.  His initial order was for 100, this summer.  “I’ve been going through them at a good rate.  Most people like the idea.”  Sze just re-ordered, another 100 for each location.

Within a couple of months, Fraser – pounding the pavement and meeting with coffee shop owners – had Tree Sleeve locations grow from a handful, to a dozen, to now nearly 30.  By late October, he ordered the second batch of 1,000 to be manufactured, and continues to visit coffee shops personally, extolling the virtues of a product that allows purchasers to impact the planet, and people’s lives.

Along the way, he has patched together an informal set of advisors, including two of his former professors at Richmond, two volunteers from the Hartford chapter of SCORE (Senior Corps of Retired Executives), a local marketing professional that he learned of through CT NEXT, and a growing array of local coffee shop owners willing to give the product a try.

Another of the initial locations, J. Rene Coffee Roasters in West Hartford Center, has also re-ordered in recent weeks, based on solid sales.  Current locations include Avon, Stamford, Windsor, New Haven, Middletown, and Shelton.   But Fraser’s sites are set on a broader reach, and impact.

Having An Impact

The initial tree planting is being handled by Eden Reforestation Projects.  Since 2005, the California-based Eden has employed thousands of workers in Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Haiti who have planted millions of seedlings that are growing into healthy forests. They will be planting trees quarterly for Tree Sleeves, and Fraser now looks forward to 2,000 trees being planted in December.

Eden’s website explains that radical deforestation is a major cause of extreme poverty and oppression in impoverished nations, and that deforestation, which can result in soil erosion and destructive flooding, contributes to the climate change crisis.

The local start-up company’s slogan of “Grab 1 Plant 1” is quite concise: GRAB 1 - customers purchase tree sleeves and the company provides the necessary funding to a non-profit tree planting partner; PLANT 1 - Tree Sleeve's nonprofit partner plants and nurses tree seedlings in greenhouses located within deforested parts of the world. Upon maturity, trees are then transported and planted in areas most affected.

With patent pending, Tree Sleeves are currently manufactured overseas, but Fraser hopes that as the business grows he will be able to bring manufacturing to the U.S., while keeping prices affordable for consumers and continuing to impact the environment and vast populations.  Not unexpectedly, he is optimistic.  “Our generation wants to make a difference.  Impact is huge for me, and this is a huge issue.  I want to be the one who helps to solve it.”

Always looking ahead, co-branding, college stores and internet sales may be on the horizon, Fraser says, and perhaps a college intern to provide support.  Right now, to help pay for the gas his car requires to get him around the region, Fraser is working an overnight job at a local warehouse distribution center while building his own business by day.

Don’t even ask when he manages to sleep -that’s not a priority.  Fraser has been taking samples of Tree Sleeves to retailers since early summer, shows no sign of slowing down, and is encouraged by the response.  He’s also quite proud to be launching his business in the city where he grew up.  “It feels good.  I went away to school, I came back.  We certainly have the resources here to get this off to a great start.”

Hartford Skyline's Phoenix Boat Building Celebrates 50th Anniversary

Dubbed the "Boat Building," it is the world's first two-sided building and in 2013 celebrates its 50th anniversary. The headquarters of The Phoenix, located in downtown Hartford at One American Row, was an architectural original, and half a century later, continues to stand out amongst newcomers to the Hartford skyline.

Completed in 1963, the building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and is an exceptionally significant example of the Modernist architectural style.

Distinguished by its unique form and lenticular plan, the building was designed by Max Abramovitz, a recognized 20th century master. Abramovitz -- widely acclaimed for his role in designing two of New York City's landmarks, the United Nations and Lincoln Center -- envisioned the locally dubbed "boat building" as a reflection of a daring and progressive company.

The construction of One American Row cemented Phoenix's commitment to the renewal of Hartford, where the company was founded in 1851, and reflected its forward-thinking and innovative business approach. The company decided to remain in Hartford in the 1960’s – and since then – choosing neither to move to the suburbs or to the planned Constitution Plaza nearby, which was the first urban renewal project in Connecticut and one of the earliest in the nation.

The 13-story tower is properly called an elliptic lenticular cylinder and is 225 feet along its axis and 87 feet wide at maximum width. It is oriented so that its pointed ends face east and west and the sides face north and south. The building was designed by one of the nation's foremost architectural firms, Harrison & Abramovitz, of New York. Ground was broken in 1961 and the contractor, George A. Fuller Company, completed construction in November 1963.

In 2010, the building was awarded Silver Leed® certification from the U.S. Green Building Council, and is one of a small number of buildings that are both Leed® certified and listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Phoenix was named one of the region’s top workplaces by The Hartford Courant in 2012.

In 2013, the plaza surrounding the building was renovated with environmentally friendly planted areas. The "green" plaza renovation was the first completed private property piece of Hartford's iQuilt Plan, which promotes creative urban design to strengthen pedestrian links between downtown destinations.

The Phoenix Companies, Inc. is a boutique life insurance and annuity company serving customers' retirement and protection needs. Insurance products are available through select independent distributors, supported by our wholesaling team at Saybrus Partners.  Founded in 1851, Phoenix is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol PNX. Corporate offices are in Hartford, CT, and there is a customer service center in East Greenbush, NY. As of December 2012, they reportedly had approximately 600 employees.

Good News, Bad News as Connecticut Seeks Economic Rebound

The assessment of the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC) is good news, bad news for Connecticut’s economic recovery.  In a presentation to The Alliance for Nonprofit Growth and Opportunity, CERC Vice President of Research Alissa DeJonge and Research Analyst Carmel Ford reached two central conclusions:

•  Connecticut has structural problems that continue to make its economy recover more difficult.  Structural problems include workforce and industry compositions that are not particular strengths in the overall U.S. ecnomy.
•  Connecticut has advantages in some areas such as healthcare employment, and we may see improvements in the state’s housing market as forecolousres start to diminish and inventory supply inequities become smaller.

Among the key stats that contributed to the overall analysis from CERC:

1. Connecticut ranked 5^th lowest among the states in per capita energy consumption in 2010.  However, Connecticut ranked 3^rd highest in total energy prices and had the highest energy expenditure among all New England states.
2.    Connecticut’s youth unemployment rate was 17.1 percent in July 2013, compared with the national rate of 16.2 percent.
3.   The unemployment rate in New London county hasn’t decreased significantly since 2010, and in Tolland County since 2011.  Overall, the states unemployment rate by county has been decreasing steadily in the state’s other six counties.
4.   Median prices of single family homes in Connecticut increased 2.7% to $429,000, according to most recent data, and the inventory of single homes went down by 12.9% compared with a year ago.
5. Newly issued housing permits in July 2013 incased slightly to 420 from 375 in July 2012.
6. Connecticut remains the richest state with a per capita income of $58,908.

The CERC officials also pointed out that some of Connecticut’s leading industry categories, such as insurance and finance, are not performing well nationally, thus slowing the opportunities for the state’s economy to advance.

Based in Rocky Hill, CERC is a public-private partnership that provides economic development services consistent with state strategies, leveraging Connecticut’s unique advantages as a premier business location.  CERC was recognized earlier this month  for excellence in economic development marketing by key industry group, the Northeastern Economic Development Association (NEDA).  The award was presented at the recent NEDA annual conference in Portland, Maine among more than 130 economic development professionals from across the Northeast.

Big Trash Pick-Up: Volunteers to Clean Connecticut's Shoreline

A year ago, 2,450 volunteers in Connecticut removed 16,310 pounds of trash from Long Island Sound’s shoreline and Connecticut waterways. This weekend, the effort continues, as bird watchers, fishermen, sailors, scuba divers, students, citizen groups and businesses will be cleaning up trash from Connecticut’s beaches, islands, and rivers as part of the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC).

Save the Sound, the Connecticut coordinator for the ICC for the past 11 years, has worked with cleanup captains to organize public clean-ups at 25 locations across the state this weekend. (See partial list below.)  The cleanups will continue throughout September and October.  Interested volunteers should check the calendar for listings of clean-ups and to register.

ICC, created by the Ocean Conservancy, is now in its 28th year and has participation in all 55 U.S. states and territories and 100 countries around the world. It is a unique event in that volunteers tally up all garbage they pick up on data cards, which are sent to Ocean Conservancy for analysis. They use the information to track trends in marine debris and help stop it at its source. Last year, more than 550,000 people picked up more than 10 million pounds of trash along nearly 20,000 miles of coastline worldwide.

Bank of America is Lead Sponsor of Save the Sound’s ICC Cleanups in Connecticut, and employees from the company are leading and participating in a cleanup at Jennings Beach in Fairfield on Saturday, as well as co-leading a cleanup with the New Haven Rotary club at Lighthouse Point Park.

Working in both New York and Connecticut, Save the Sound has established a 40-year track record of restoring and protecting the waters and shorelines of the Sound.  A program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment, Save the Sound recently received a $50,000 grant from the Fairfield County Community Foundation to support its green infrastructure work in partnership with the City of Bridgeport and the Bridgeport Water Pollution Control Authority. The grant will further Save the Sound's efforts to work with towns to implement innovative installations that act like sponges to absorb and filter stormwater runoff, thereby reducing flooding and improving the water quality of Long Island Sound.

For a complete list of the over 43 ICC cleanups happening in Connecticut throughout September and October, please visit http://www.ctenvironment.org/get-involved/calendar.cfm. A Facebook page has additional information.

Saturday, September 21

NEW HAVEN, 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Bank of America, New Haven Rotary Club, and Save the Sound executive director Curt Johnson at Lighthouse Point Park.

FAIRFIELD,  9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

Bank of America cleanup at Jennings Beach.

NEW LONDON,10:00 AM – 11:30 AM

Local citizen cleanups at Ocean Beach and Alewife Cove Tidal Creek.

 Sunday, September 22

WESTPORT, 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM, 11:00 AM – 2:00 PM

 Friends of Sherwood Island State Park and National Charity League of Ridgefield will hold cleanups at Sherwood Island.

MILFORD, 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM

The Boy Scouts will hold two cleanups at Audubon Coastal Center and Gulf Beach.

Connecticut's Green Report Card: Needs Improvement

Connecticut’s state government received mixed grades in the new edition of the Connecticut Green Guide, published by Hartford Business Journal.  The publication reviewed state policy in our areas – microgrids, gasoline taxes, wind turbines and greenhouse gas reduction efforts – and graded the state’s efforts.

Connecticut received an “A” for recently announcing an $18 million grant program with nine microgrid projects in eight Connecticut communities, “adding protection from power outages and moving away from a centralized electricity system.”  Just a week ago, Gov. Malloy was joined by the White House Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality to highlight one of the state’s microgrid sites, in the Parkville neighborhood of Hartford.

The state received an “F” because of a moratorium on wind turbines, which has been in place since 2001, according to the Green Guide.  “Because of poorly written legislation and prolonged bureaucracy,” the publication explained, several projects have been delayed.  Another poor grade, a D+, was assigned because state taxes on gasoline rose 4 cents on July 1, “giving Connecticut the third highest taxes on motor vehicle fuel in the country.”  The publication noted that while “higher prices might encourage conservation, very little of the tax revenue goes toward fixing the aging transportation system, leading to vehicle inefficiencies and congestion.”

Connecticut fared better. earning a B+, in the analysis of the state’s participation in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, along with the other eight states in the region, which will “further lower the cap on power plant pollution,” which should, according to the publication’s review, “make the air cleaner, and the proceeds will aid the clean energy industry.”

The publication also noted that Connecticut became the first state in the country to mandate mattress recycling, with a new law approved by the legislature this year, also adding a new paint recycling requirement to existing laws that call for recycling of electronic waste and mercury thermostats.  The state’s move toward a greater emphasis on “product stewardship,” is characterized by an increasing obligation imposed on consumers to recycle designated products, which helps the environment and provides business opportunities in the recycling of those products.

In a report on the green initiatives across all 50 states, published by Forbes magazine in July, Connecticut excelled in the areas of mass transit, ranking 5th among the states, in CO2 controls, ranking 11th, and recycling, ranking 18th.  The state was 44th in use of renewables and 47th in water quality.  That's according to this recent green ranking of states from MPHOline.org, a website that provides information on a variety of public health topics.

Data from the green product rating site GoodGuide was used to assess air and water quality, information from Wikipedia was the basis of the comparison on the number of mass transit systems in each state, and state agencies were used to provide information on the other categories.

CT Among Best in Nation with Lowest Toxic Air Pollution; KY, OH, PA Among Worst

Residents of Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania are exposed to more toxic air pollution from coal-fired power plants than in any other state, according to an analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), leading the organization’s “toxic 20.”

At the same time, the report found a 19 percent decrease in all air toxics emitted from power plants in 2010, the most recent data available, compared to 2009 levels. Connecticut ranks 42nd in toxic air pollution and 43rd in mercury air pollution according to the newly released data, among the lowest levels in the nation.

The drop in toxic levels nationwide is attributed to two factors: the increasing use by power companies of natural gas, which has become cheaper and is cleaner burning than coal; and the installation of state-of-the-art pollution controls by many plants--in anticipation of new health protections issued by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Finalized in 2011, EPA’s Mercury and Air Toxics standards will cut mercury air pollution by 79 percent from 2010 levels, beginning in 2015. Connecticut is one of only 13 states to have electric sector mercury regulations that are at least as stringent as the EPA’s proposed utility air toxics rule, according to the report.

In the second edition of “Toxic Power: How Power Plants Contaminate Our Air and States,” NRDC also found that coal- and oil-fired power plants still contribute nearly half (44 percent) of all the toxic air pollution reported to the Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). The report also ranks the states by the amount of their toxic air pollution levels.

Among Connecticut’s neighboring states, New Hampshire at #21, New York at #24 and Massachusetts at #27 narrowly missed being included in the “toxic 20”.  Rhode Island was #47, Maine was #49 and Vermont was #50.

Newly installed EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy, a former Connecticut Commissioner of Environmental Protection, has spent the past four years with responsibility over EPA’s air pollution regulations as the assistant administrator of the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation.

With pollution reductions resulting from the upcoming standard, it is estimated that as many as 11,000 premature deaths and 130,000 asthma attacks, 5,700 hospital visits, 4,700 heart attacks, and 2,800 cases of chronic bronchitis will be avoided in 2016. The public health improvements are also estimated to save $37 billion to $90 billion in health costs, and prevent up to 540,000 missed work or “sick” days each year.

Franz Matzner, NRDC associate director of Government Affairs, said:  “For too long, Americans have had no choice but to breathe toxic air pollution. Thanks to the EPA, the air is getting cleaner.”  Despite the overall reductions in total emissions, 18 of the Toxic 20 from 2009 remain in the 2010 list, although several states have made significant improvements highlighted in the report.  The states on the "Toxic 20" list (from worst to best) are:

1. Kentucky
2. Ohio
3. Pennsylvania
4. Indiana
5. West Virginia
6. Florida
7. Michigan
8. North Carolina
9. Georgia
10. Texas
11. Tennessee
12. Virginia
13. South Carolina
14. Alabama
15. Missouri
16. Illinois
17. Mississippi
18. Wisconsin
19. Maryland
20. Delaware 

First McCarthy and Comey, Now Schwartz and Handelsman: Four CT Nominees for Obama Administration

All roads have been leading to Connecticut lately as President Obama has sought top talent for his administration.  Among key Presidential appointments announced by the White House last week was Linda Spoonster Schwartz, as nominee for Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for Policy and Planning, in the Department of Veterans Affairs.  Schwartz is the fourth Connecticut resident and second who previously led a Connecticut agency, to be nominated recently by President Obama.

Linda Schwartz, a disabled veteran, has led the Connecticut Department of Veterans Affairs through Republican and Democratic administrations since 2003.  She concurrently serves as an Associate Clinical Professor of Nursing at the Yale School of Nursing, where she has been on Faculty since 1999 and was appointed Associate Research Scientist and Scholar.  From 1980 to 1993, she taught at several University and College Schools of Nursing and held leadership roles in Nursing organizations in Connecticut. Her nomination was sent to the Senate for confirmation on Aug. 1.

The White House also announced last week that President Obama intends to nominate Jo Handelsman of Yale University as Associate Director for Science, Office of Science and Technology Policy.

 Dr. Jo Handelsman is the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Professor and Frederick Phineas Rose Professor in the Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology at Yale University, a position she has held since 2010.  Previously, she served on the University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty as a Professor in Plant Pathology from 1985 to 2009 and Professor and Chair of the Department of Bacteriology from 2007 to 2009.

“The extraordinary dedication these individuals bring to their new roles will greatly serve the American people.  I am grateful they have agreed to serve in this Administration and I look forward to working with them in the months and years to come,” President Obama said in the formal announcement.

On July 17, the Senate confirmed the nomination of Gina McCarthy as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.  McCarthy, whose nomination was held up for a time amidst political wrangling in Congress, has served as Connecticut’s Commissioner of Environmental Protection  prior to heading to Washington to join the EPA as assistant administrator earlier in the administration. McCarthy, is a 25-year veteran of state and local government in New England where she worked for Republicans including former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney and Connecticut Governor M. Jodi Rell.

The Boston Globe reported that the newly confirmed McCarthy told an audience at Harvard Law School that cutting carbon pollution will “feed the economic agenda of this country” and vowed to work with industry leaders on shaping policies aimed at curbing global warming.

In June, the President nominated James B. Comey, Jr., of Westport, to be Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a term of ten years.  Comey was confirmed as the seventh director of the FBI on July 29 by a vote of 93-1 in the Senate.  He served in the Justice Department official in the Bush administration.

“To know Jim Comey is also to know his fierce independence and his deep integrity,” Obama said in making the nomination. “He’s that rarity in Washington sometimes: He doesn’t care about politics, he only cares about getting the job done. At key moments, when it’s mattered most, he joined Bob in standing up for what he believed was right.”

Before serving as deputy attorney general, Comey was the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, where he helped bring down the Gambino crime family, and served as the managing assistant U.S. attorney in charge of the Richmond Division of the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Eastern District of Virginia, according to news reports.

Handelsman is currently President of the American Society for Microbiology.  In 2011, Dr. Handelsman received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science Mentoring.  From 2002 to 2010, Dr. Handelsman was the Director of the Wisconsin Program for Scientific Teaching.  In 2004, Dr. Handelsman co-founded the National Academies Summer Institute on Undergraduate Education in Biology.  She received a B.S. from Cornell University and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Handelsman will help advise President Barack Obama on the impact of science on both international and domestic affairs.  “This is an enormous opportunity that I felt I just could not pass up,” she told the Yale  News.

“In addition to being a superb biologist, Jo Handelsman is nationally recognized as an exceptional mentor of young scientists and an effective champion for increasing diversity in the scientific work force,” Steven Girvin, deputy provost for science & technology at Yale told the News. “Her energetic devotion to improving science education is of critical importance to the nation.”

U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal released a statement calling Schwartz "a champion of veterans and a national star."  From 1979 to 1980, Schwartz was a caseworker in the Office of the Field Director of the American Red Cross at Rhein-Main Air Base in Germany.  Dr. Schwartz served in the United States Air Force (USAF) Nurse Corps from 1968 to 1986, both on Active Duty and as a Reservist.  She retired as a Flight Nurse Instructor, with the rank of Major after sustaining injuries in a USAF Air Craft accident.

In 2001, she served on the Board of Directors of the American Nurses Association and was elected to the American Academy of Nursing.  From 1996 to 2000, she served as a Member and Chair of the VA Advisory Committee on Women Veterans.  She received a B.S. from the University of Maryland, an MSN from Yale University School of Nursing, and a Dr.P.H from the Yale University School of Medicine.

Reducing Utensil Use on Campus Helps Sustainability Efforts

In a presentation earlier this year on the website TED, known for “Ideas Worth Spreading,” Dr. Michael Shaver of the University of Edinburgh suggested “saving the world one plastic fork at a time.”  Courtesy of Sodexo, the mammoth  international food service company, that’s exactly what Central Connecticut State University (CCSU) is doing.

CCSU now features utensil dispensers in their student center dining area, replacing the traditional bins and bunches of forks, spoons and knives.  The dispensers operate at the simple push of a lever.  They only eject one fork, knife or spoon with each action of the lever, rather than having customers dip their hands into a bin, only to pull out a fist-full of utensils.

This simple change to the single-touch dispensers, according to Sodexo, reduces the number of wasted utensils by over 40 percent, thus reducing the amount of plastic used on campus – which firmly places the university on the right side of sustainability efforts.  The dispensers now in use at CCSU indicate that "dispensing one fork at a time reduces usage by up to 49%," pointing out that "less is definitely more when it comes to sustainability."

The “greening” of the campus food service – driven by Sodexo at facilities across the nation – also includes napkins, which switched to a single dispensing system years ago.  In fact,  Sodexo announced in 2008 that after only one year, the program resulted in a 25 to 50 percent reduction in the actual number of paper napkins used - thanks to the introduction of dispensers that dispense a single napkin at a  time.

A  switch to recycled napkins in the company’s 1,300 food service operations nationwide has resulted in saving nearly ten million gallons of water, more than 23,000  trees, half a million gallons of oil and five and a half million kilowatts  of energy, officials report. The company began using two types of recycled napkins as part of a commitment to leadership in sustainability and to providing.

Central, as the other state universities, and more than 600 public and private institutions in Connecticut and nationwide, is a signatory to The American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment.  The official commitment signed by all members says in part, "We believe colleges and universities must exercise leadership in their communities and throughout society by modeling ways to minimize global warming emissions, and by providing the knowledge and the educated graduates to achieve climate neutrality."

The Connecticut institutions participating include:

• Central Connecticut State University
• Connecticut College
• Eastern Connecticut State University
• Fairfield University
• Middlesex Community College (CT)
• Norwalk Community College
• Southern Connecticut State University
• Trinity College
• University of Connecticut
• Wesleyan University
• Western Connecticut State University

According to the corporate website, Sodexo touches the lives of 75 million consumers in 80 countries every day. In North America alone, the company serves more than 15 million consumers at 9,000 client sites. In 2012, named 89 Sodexo-served colleges and universities among the nation's most environmentally responsible "green colleges." They were named to The Princeton Review's Guide to 322 Green Colleges: 2012 Edition, which profiles institutions of higher education in the United States and Canada that demonstrate notable commitments to sustainability.

By the way, if you’re looking for a one-at-a-time fork or spoon dispenser for your business, you can pick one up for $27.29 on Amazon.  The Knife dispenser goes for $8.89.