Green Options » connecticut

Sigg Company Shamefully Admits Its Aluminum Sigg Bottles Contain BPA

John Chappell — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 03:57:00 +0000

The Sigg Company recently admitted that its aluminum bottles, long touted as an alternative to chemical leaching plastics, actually contain bisphenol-A (BPA) in their liner. The announcement has left customers around the world outraged. Especially damning is evidence that the company knew as far back as 2006 that the bottle liners contained BPA, yet failed to disclose this fact to consumers.

Though the scientific jury is still out on the effects of BPA, states such as Minnesota and Connecticut have already banned their use in kiddie drinking cups and other bottles. Conscientious consumers have also been leery of BPA, and many have tried to do their best to avoid it. Unfortunately for many people, the alternative to other BPA leeching plastic bottles were the aluminum Sigg bottles they thought were safe.

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Multiple Car Crash After Snakes Escape from Man’s Pants

Andrew Williams — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 10:38:30 +0000

A man lost control of his car and caused mayhem in a Connecticut street, after two snakes escaped from his pants.

Angel Rolon told police that he lost control of his sports utility vehicle after the baby reptiles distracted him by slithering over the throttle and brake pedals. Eyewitnesses then report seeing the 20-year-old’s vehicle swerving as he made a desperate bid to catch the creatures.

Alas, his efforts were to no avail, and the SUV crashed into some nearby parked cars before overturning in a street in Hartford, Connecticut.

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Food Not Bombs Continues to Ignite Controversy

John Chappell — Sun, 24 May 2009 14:57:29 +0000

Food Not Bombs, a group dedicated to non-violent social change through feeding the needy, continues to find itself at the center of controversy as they enter their 30th year in existence.

Groups in New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, and Connecticut have run afoul of local laws that seek to stop them from handing out free meals in public places to those in need. Though all Food Not Bombs groups are independent, they share the common goals of feeding vegetarian meals to the hungry while also protesting war and poverty.

Food Not Bombs finds food that would otherwise be discarded - from restaurants, grocery stores, and other sources and prepares meals to anyone and everyone.

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Connecticut and Massachusetts Could Get EV Charging Network

Dave Tyler — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 14:36:02 +0000

Hey, hold on a just a minute Chicago, San Francisco and Portland. Connecticut and Massachusetts want in on your race to be the country’s EV hotbed.

Northeast Utilities wants to build a 575-outlet EV charging system in the Nutmeg and Bay States, The Hartford Courant says. The pilot project would take two years to complete and the outlets would be built at private homes, businesses and public spots. Total cost: $1.4 million, helped out by a $694,000 federal grant.

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About 90% of Bats Wiped Out in Connecticut

Jake Richardson — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 03:24:39 +0000

A white fungus is devastating the bats of Connecticut and other Northeastern states.

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News Flash: It’s Not an Eco-Friendly Reusable Bag if You Don’t Use It

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 14:49:16 +0000

Can you shop at any large retailer today without seeing a display of reusable shopping bags for sale at the checkout aisle? Seems like a good thing, right? Buy a cloth tote and prevent a lot of one-use plastic bags from entering the landfills.

But the thought occurred to me recently that it might not be a good thing if lots and lots of people are buying reusable bags but not reusing them. Apparently, I’m not the only one who’s started worrying about that.

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Connecticut Town Bans Plastic Shopping Bags

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 15:10:16 +0000

Westport, Connecticut, recently joined a small but growing number of communities to ban the use of free plastic shopping bags within its borders. The new ordinance, which goes into effect early next year, would impose a $150 fine on any store that offers such bags.

WestportNow.com reports that citizens attending the Representative Town Meeting (RTM) vote on the ban overwhelmingly supported the measure. The RTM eventually voted 26 to 5 (with one abstention) in favor of the ordinance, and also rejected a proposal that would have made the ban effective only through Sept. 19 of next year.

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Back to School Week: Which Colleges Are Greenest?

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 14:36:24 +0000

As college students across the U.S. begin heading back to school, some will be returning to campuses that are greener than most.

According to the Princeton Review’s new Green Ratings for institutions of higher learning, 11 colleges stood out from the national field of 534. All 11 earned a rating of 99, the highest score possible in the Princeton Review’s new tally.

So which schools are tops in all things green?

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Want to Curb Global Warming? Start Recycling and Composting

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 18:43:58 +0000

Looking for ways beyond changing lightbulbs and taking the train to help reduce your carbon footprint? Turns out we all could make a big difference in greenhouse gas emissions by not throwing out so much trash and composting our food waste.

That’s the message from “Stop Trashing the Climate,” a report prepared by The Institute for Local Self-Reliance, the Global Alliance for Incinerator Alternatives (GAIA) and Eco-Cycle, a non-profit recycler. The study finds that waste prevention and increased recycling and composting could reduce as many greenhouse gas emissions as are produced by 21 percent of the U.S.’s 417 coal-fired power plants.

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How Peak Oil-Ready Is Your City?

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 18:00:04 +0000

Why have gas prices risen to nearly $4 a gallon (or more) in the U.S.? Is it oil speculation? Rising demand? Or the first signs of peak oil?

Whatever the cause (and there’s good reason to blame all three to some degree), most so-called experts these days aren’t expecting oil prices to drop anytime soon. In fact, Newsweek this week features a sobering article titled, “The Coming Energy Wars,” that predicts we’ll soon see oil prices top $200 a barrel. When that happens, the authors warn, we can expect everything about our daily lives to change.

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Trendy Thieves Eye Used Grease, Metals

Shirley Siluk Gregory — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:38:07 +0000

Rising prices for everything from copper and platinum to flour, gas and cooking oil are creating new markets for trend-minded thieves across the U.S.

With gasoline prices in the U.S. breaking new records weekly, for example, law enforcement officials are seeing more cases of cooking grease thefts from fast-food establishments and other restaurants. Why used grease? Because cooking oil can be converted into biodiesel fuel that can be sold at a cool profit.

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EPA Chief on Hot Seat Over California Emissions Denial

Max Lindberg — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 00:19:29 +0000

Last December, EPA administrator Stephen Johnson denied California’s request to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today, the Senate released documents putting Johnson squarely in opposition with the scientific and legal experts on his staff when he denied the request.The documents were requested by Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works chair Barbara Boxer (D-CA), who said:

“These documents paint a picture of an Environmental Protection Agency in crisis. They show the dedicated professional staff of the EPA working hard to do what they are paid to do by the American people - protect our health and our environment. At the same time, we see more and more evidence of Administrator Johnson ignoring the science and the facts, and discarding the advice of his professional staff.”

“I believe this decision will be reversed by the next President or by the courts, but the Administrator can save the taxpayers time and money, and can get us started cleaning up our air if he would simply follow the law, the facts, and the advice of his agency professionals.”

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Greening The Golden Years Podcast: Gray is Green

Max Lindberg — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 12:54:26 +0000

They have an honorable history, having survived the Depression, had a hand in defeating the enemies of freedom in World War II, created the United Nations, and overcame the Cold War. Some have called them the "Civic Generation" because they took an interest in voting, public affairs, civil rights and civil liberties. Today, they admit to exploiting earth’s limited resources, polluting the air and our drinking water and lumbering blindly on to global warming.

Today, a group of seniors at a retirement home in Hamden, CT, have formed their own organization, GrayisGreen, and authored The Handbook on Conservation for Retirement Communities (MS Word doc). They are another link in the expanding network of seniors stepping up and making a difference in their surroundings, and ours.

My thanks to Joyce Emery of Green Seniors for the lead to this amazing group of elders.