Environmental Leaders Expose How the Coal Industry Poisons Our Water
Waterkeeper Alliance
Waterkeeper Alliance, Sierra Club, Environmental Integrity Project, Earthjustice and Clean Water Action led the carefully planned, highly coordinated release of a hard hitting national report, Closing the Floodgates: How the Coal Industry Is Poisoning Our Water and How We Can Stop It.
Waterkeeper Alliance President Robert F. Kennedy, Jr, Sierra Club Beyond Coal Campaign Director Mary Anne Hitt, Environmental Integrity Project Executive Director Eric Schaeffer and Catawba Riverkeeper Sam Perkins show boatloads of reporters an illegal discharge of toxic heavy metals from the Duke Energy Riverbend coal ash pond. The ash pond pond dam at Riverbend leaks at least five bright orange colored streams of waste into Mountain Island Lake daily. Photo credit: Waterkeeper Alliance
And since seeing is believing, they took five boat loads of reporters and news crews up to a bright orange stream of polluted coal waste flowing into Mountain Island Lake, the drinking water source for more than 800,000 people in Charlotte, Mount Holly and Gastonia.
That one-two punch of a detailed technical report coupled with a trip to see the toxic pollution flowing from a coal-fired power plant into a public drinking water reservoir took the invisibility cloak off this hidden pollution problem.
The story was covered by news media outlets all over the country, from Muskogee, OK, to Florence, AL, to the Charlotte Business Journal to New Bedford, MA. It was was also covered by local news stations in Charlotte who showed a great video of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. taking on the coal industry with his local Catawba Riverkeeper, Sam Perkins, who demonstrated the high volume of pollution from Duke Energy:
The environmental groups have plans to keep the industry from slinking back under the invisibility cloak they have been hiding under for the past 31 years. To help highlight the report’s findings and raise awareness about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) critical new coal plant water pollution standards, many local events will be held across the country.
Environmental groups took five boat loads of reporters to see this foully polluted stream of waste leaking from the Duke Energy Riverbend coal-fired power plant coal ash pond dam. Photo credit: Waterkeeper Alliance
From a “toxic lemonade stand” in Pennsylvania to a “Miss and Mr. Toxic Water Swimsuit Competition” in Missouri, and from a kayaking trip outside a coal plant in Oklahoma to a fish-less fish fry in Illinois, activists from coast to coast will be calling for the EPA to finalize the strongest possible standards to protect American families from dangerous toxic water pollution.
If you think it is past time for the U.S. to stop the unlimited discharge of arsenic and other poisons in our waterways, tell the EPA to choose option five during the public comment period on the proposed new rules. Help us keep the truth of their pollution visible so it can be stopped.
Visit EcoWatch’s COAL and WATER pages for more related news on this topic.
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Tearing through the crowded streets of Philadelphia, an electric car and a gas-powered car sought to win a heated race. One that mimicked how cars are actually used. The cars had to stop at stoplights, wait for pedestrians to cross the street, and swerve in and out of the hundreds of horse-drawn buggies. That's right, horse-drawn buggies. Because this race took place in 1908. It wanted to settle once and for all which car was the superior urban vehicle. Although the gas-powered car was more powerful, the electric car was more versatile. As the cars passed over the finish line, the defeat was stunning. The 1908 Studebaker electric car won by 10 minutes. If in 1908, the electric car was clearly the better form of transportation, why don't we drive them now? Today, I'm going to answer that question by diving into the history of electric cars and what I discovered may surprise you.
<p>In 1881, at a blistering pace of 9 mph, inventor Gustave Trouvé introduced the streets of Paris, and ultimately, the world to the quiet hum of the electric carriage. For the wealthy socialites of Paris, and their counterparts in New York, the horseless carriage was a must have, and electric motors were the superior choice. "By 1900, there were 4,192 vehicles on the streets in the U.S. Steam cars accounted for 1,681 of these; 1,575 were electric, and 936 had internal-combustion engines."* If you just wanted to get around town, the electric carriage was a better option — that is, if you were rich enough to afford one. Unlike internal combustion engines, electric vehicles were easy to turn on, accelerate, brake, there was no exhaust, and didn't have something exploding under your seat. Oh, and you also didn't have to crank the engine every time you stopped, which is part of the reason why that electric Studebaker won the Philadelphia race so handily. As a result of this ease of use, electric cars were looking like big business in the early 1900s, especially for the industry giant Electric Vehicle Company. At the time, the Electric Vehicle Company was the biggest car manufacturer in the country, and they used a model that seems revolutionary now, but makes sense back then. Instead of selling their cars, they rented them to people for the day or for multiple days. Each night the renter could return the car to a central garage and the Electric Vehicle Company would charge and service the vehicle, a model very similar to how stables worked at the time. But despite the electric car's success, its golden age was about to end. </p>
<p>To find out what happened, watch the video above!</p><p><em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNXvxXpDJXp-mZu3pFMzYHQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Our Changing Climate</a> is an environmental YouTube channel that explores the intersections of social, political, climatic, and food-based issues. The channel dives into topics like zero waste and nuclear energy in order to understand how to effectively tackle climate change and environmental destruction.</em></p><p><em><em>To receive all the latest videos produced by Charlie subscribe to his YouTube channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNXvxXpDJXp-mZu3pFMzYHQ" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.</em></em></p><p><em><em></em>*</em><em>Rudi Volti Cars and Culture: The Life Story of a Technology (Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2006</em></p>
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A technician inspects a bitcoin mining operation at Bitfarms in Saint Hyacinthe, Quebec on March 19, 2018. LARS HAGBERG / AFP via Getty Images
As bitcoin's fortunes and prominence rise, so do concerns about its environmental impact.
<p>The process of mining the cryptocurrency is enormously energy intensive, so much so that it consumes more electricity in a year than Argentina or the Ukraine, according to the latest data from the <a href="https://cbeci.org/cbeci/comparisons" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index</a>. Its energy hunger even led to a warning from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen last week, as <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/22/yellen-sounds-warning-about-extremely-inefficient-bitcoin.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">CNBC reported</a>.</p><p>"It's an extremely inefficient way of conducting transactions," Yellen said, "and the amount of energy that's consumed in processing those transactions is staggering."</p>
<p>Bitcoin's value rose past $50,000 two weeks ago, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/16/investing/bitcoin-50000-price-record/index.html" target="_blank">CNN Business reported at the time</a>. It was in part buoyed by the success of Elon Musk, whose electric car company <a href="http://tesla/" target="_blank">Tesla</a> made more than $900 million after buying $1.5 billion of the currency, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-56215787" target="_blank">BBC News reported</a>. Its value has subsided somewhat since then, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/27/bitcoin-mining-electricity-use-environmental-impact?CMP=fb_gu&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Facebook&fbclid=IwAR32SsssuI2vJel6JIv35Rynz8rUuwDOjKG06vMdBGDQA0LuFQ389eE9B_g#Echobox=1614421164" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. But Musk's endorsement raised a concern: How did his support of the currency meld with Tesla's <a href="https://www.tesla.com/about#:~:text=Tesla's%20mission%20is%20to%20accelerate%20the%20world's%20transition%20to%20sustainable%20energy.&text=Today%2C%20Tesla%20builds%20not%20only,energy%20generation%20and%20storage%20products." target="_blank">goal</a> of moving the world towards a "zero-emission future?"</p><p>The question is larger than Musk, of course. Bitcoin mining is energy intensive by design. There are only 21 million bitcoins that can be mined, a process that involves solving complex math problems on a computer to release new coins. When bitcoin first started in 2009, it was possible to mine for bitcoin on a normal computer. However, the currency is designed so that the fewer bitcoins left to be released, the more complicated the problems become. Now that 18.5 million bitcoins have been mined, an average computer cannot handle the calculations.</p>
<p>As the price rises, more people are motivated to get in on the action.</p><p>"They want to get that revenue," University of Chicago economics professor Gina Pieters told BBC News, "and that's what's going to encourage them to introduce more and more powerful machines in order to guess this random number, and therefore you will see an increase in energy consumption."</p><p>Pieters is part of the University of Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF), which runs the bitcoin electricity use index. CCAF <a href="https://cbeci.org/" target="_blank">calculates</a> that bitcoin now uses 129.22 terawatt hours of electricity a year, according to its most recent update.</p>
<p>This doesn't necessarily mean that mining bitcoin is increasing <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/greenhouse-gas-emissions" target="_self">greenhouse gas emissions</a>. Bitcoin proponents say that the mining can be powered using <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/renewable-energy" target="_self">renewable energy</a> sources, according to The Guardian. However, the mining process does motivate miners to seek out cheap energy sources.</p><p>"The more machines a miner operates, the more likely he is to find the solution to the puzzle," the CCAF <a href="https://cbeci.org/faq/" target="_blank">explained</a>. "However, more machines also means that more electricity is needed to run and cool the equipment, which in turn results in higher costs for the miner in question. Miners are thus always searching for abundant electricity sources at the lowest possible price."</p><p>Seeking the cheapest electricity source may mean <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_self">coal</a> in many places, The Guardian pointed out. More bitcoin is mined in China than in any other country, and about two-thirds of its electricity still comes from coal.</p>
<p>The CCAF said it does not yet have the data to determine the cryptocurrency's carbon footprint, since this would require accurate assessments of the energy mix behind mining. However, it pointed out that even if all bitcoin mining was powered by coal, an unlikely scenario, it would still only account for 0.17 percent of the world's total greenhouse gas emissions. That doesn't mean bitcoin's growth isn't a concern for the attempts to combat the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, however.</p><p>"There are valid concerns that Bitcoin's growing electricity consumption may pose a threat to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in the future," the index wrote.</p><p>That threat increases the more bitcoin gains in popularity. Bitcoin expert and Digiconomist founder Alex de Vries told BBC News what would happen if bitcoin were adapted as a global reserve currency.</p><p>"[T]he Bitcoin price will probably be in the millions, and those miners will have more money than the entire [US] Federal budget to spend on electricity. We'd have to double our global energy production," he said. "For Bitcoin."</p>
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OR-93 traveled hundreds of miles from Oregon to California. Austin Smith Jr. / Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs / California Department of Fish and Wildlife
An Oregon-born wolf named OR-93 has sparked conservation hopes with a historic journey into California.
<p>A young male, OR-93 traveled hundreds of miles from an area southeast of Mount Hood, Oregon, to California's central Sierra Nevada mountain range, the <a href="https://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2021/02/25/dispersing-gray-wolf-travels-from-oregon-to-the-central-sierra-nevada/" target="_blank">California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced Friday</a>. The agency said he traveled farther south into California than any previous collared wolf. His trek is also the longest tracked journey of any gray wolf during the last century, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/feb/27/oregon-wolf-journey-california-wolves" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>.</p><p>"OR-93's historic trek so far south into California's central Sierra Nevada is thrilling news for wolf recovery throughout the West – and underscores that species recovery is not isolated to separate states; what happens in the Northwest greatly affects the success of wolves in other states, and vice versa," California Program Director at Defenders of Wildlife Pamela Flick said in a statement emailed to EcoWatch.</p><p>OR-93 hails from Oregon's White River pack, according to the CDFW. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs fitted him with a tracking collar in June 2020 within his home territory. At some point he left the area, likely in search of new territory and a mate. He reached California's Modoc County by the beginning of February; by the end of the month, he had traveled to Alpine County, between trans-Sierra State Highways 4 and 108. He then passed into Mono County. This put him just east of Yosemite National Park and marks the first time a wolf has been known to approach the park in more than 100 years, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/travel-national-parks-california-animals-parks-143167309e434e3b26702550f9c4b1c3" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>.</p><p>The wolf is the 16th one to travel into California, and most have hailed from Oregon. However, this journey is notable from a conservation standpoint for two reasons. For starters, OR-93 is the first wolf from the White River pack to enter the state, which is important for the population's diversity.</p>
<p>"As the first known member of the White River Pack from western Oregon to disperse into California, OR-93 also importantly brings the potential for increased genetic diversity to our state," Flick said. "We look forward to watching the journey of California's newest wolf, and we will continue to welcome gray wolves back to their historical home in the Golden State."</p><p>OR-93's epic journey also places him in a habitat with enormous potential for wolves.</p><p>"We're thrilled to learn this wolf is exploring deep into the Sierra Nevada, since scientists have said all along this is great wolf habitat," Amaroq Weiss, senior West Coast wolf advocate with the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), said in an email to EcoWatch. "He's another beacon of hope, showing that wolves can return here and flourish as long as they remain legally protected."</p><p>California's wolves were eradicated in the early 20th century following a concerted campaign by the livestock industry. The first wolf to return to the state in 2011 included another Oregon wolf, named OR-7. There are now fewer than a dozen wolves living in California, including the Lassen pack, which has produced pups every year between 2017 and 2020, according to CDFW. Another pair of wolves has also been spotted in Siskiyou County, and scientists think they will produce pups this spring.</p>
<p>While the Trump administration <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/gray-wolves-endangered-trump-2649746799.html" target="_self">removed federal Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves</a>, they remain listed as an <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> within California. CDFW Spokeswoman Jordan Traverso told the <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Oregon-wolf-has-traveled-deeper-into-California-15984246.php" target="_blank">San Francisco Chronicle</a> that OR-93's incredible journey proved the protections were working.</p><p>"We have a burgeoning population," she told the Chronicle. "It's exciting."</p><p>However, not everyone shares her excitement. The presence of wolves in the state has concerned ranchers.</p><p>"There are diverse constituencies with varying viewpoints — we do our best to walk that tight rope," Traverso told the San Francisco Chronicle.</p><p>There have been some wobbles on that walk. The seven-member Shasta pack, the first wolf pack to be discovered in California in almost 100 years, disappeared months after being found in 2015, the CBD said. The disappearance followed the pack's implication in two livestock casualties, and there are concerns they may have been poached.</p><p>Defenders of Wildlife called for more strategies to reduce livestock and wolf conflicts as wolves' California presence increases. Meanwhile, OR-93's success in the state will likely depend on more personal matters.</p><p>"Given the time of year, we assume OR-93 has traveled such a long way in search of a mate," CBD's Weiss said. "I hope he can find one."</p>
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A plume of exhaust extends from the Mitchell Power Station, a coal-fired power plant built along the Monongahela River, 20 miles southwest of Pittsburgh, on Sept. 24, 2013 in New Eagle, Pennsylvania. The plant, owned by FirstEnergy, was retired the following month. Jeff Swensen / Getty Images
By David Drake and Jeffrey York
The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.
The Big Idea
People often point to plunging natural gas prices as the reason U.S. coal-fired power plants have been shutting down at a faster pace in recent years. However, new research shows two other forces had a much larger effect: federal regulation and a well-funded activist campaign that launched in 2011 with the goal of ending coal power.
<p>We studied the retirement of U.S. coal-fired units from January 2008 to September 2016 and compared the effects of various market factors, regulations and activism on their early closure. In all, 348 coal-fired units either retired or switched to natural gas during that time.</p><p>Among the many pressures on coal power that we reviewed, a federal regulation implemented in 2015 had the biggest overall effect. The <a href="https://eelp.law.harvard.edu/2017/09/cross-state-air-pollution-rule-and-section-126-petitions/" target="_blank">Cross State Air Pollution Rule</a> requires states to reduce soot and smog pollution that blows across state lines, including from power plants. We estimate that it was responsible for reducing the expected production life of the coal power units that it affected by a total of 1,170 years.</p>
<p>Looking at coal units individually, however, we found that the <a href="https://coal.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign</a>, backed by <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/press-releases/2020/09/bloomberg-philanthropies-and-sierra-clubs-beyond-coal-campaign-reaches" target="_blank">over $174 million</a> to date from Bloomberg Philanthropies, had the most impact per targeted plant.</p><p>The campaign works by generating public pressure on utilities and state and local politicians to close down coal-fired units, often through targeted lawsuits. When the Beyond Coal campaign targeted a coal-fired unit, we found that the unit's life expectancy, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-019-12618-3" target="_blank">normally 50-60 years</a>, was reduced by an average of just over two years.</p><p>The Cross State Air Pollution Rule was the second-biggest factor per individual plant, though it affected more plants. It reduced the expected life span of each coal-fired generating unit that it affected by an estimated average of about 21 months.</p><p>We were surprised to find that neither low natural gas prices nor the adoption of renewable energy significantly reduced the life of coal units. Both have been widely touted by politicians and business leaders as the market-based drivers of coal plant retirement.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMzM1Mi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyOTE0NDY2OH0.YivSnJf8zxVGrZ-tqR5DKJBuXIvMU0sK9mvoE0zOnlE/img.png?width=980" id="5a990" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="f93a313d8569c2cebd38ce041d696230" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1308" data-height="924" />
<p>However, while adoption of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> alone did not reduce coal units' life spans, the average use of each source of renewable energy in an area did have a significant impact. Coal units operating in regions with high average renewable energy use retired an average of 15 months earlier.</p><p>It is important to note that a large number of coal plants were already nearing the end of their lifecycles during this period. But through statistical modeling, we were able to isolate the impact of each of these interventions on accelerating the retirement of a given unit.</p>
<h3>Why It Matters</h3><p>A rapid transition away from carbon-intensive energy sources such as coal is essential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that are warming the planet. Burning coal releases <a href="https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=73&t=11" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">nearly twice as much carbon dioxide</a> per unit of energy produced as natural gas does, and the natural gas contribution to global warming is significant.</p><p>From 2011 through 2018, coal-fired generating capacity in the U.S. contracted by 23%. We estimate that the emissions impact of the accelerated retirements we studied was equivalent to taking <a href="https://www.epa.gov/greenvehicles/greenhouse-gas-emissions-typical-passenger-vehicle" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">38 million typical passenger cars off the road</a>.</p><p>The common narrative has been that <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2021/02/08/biden-coal-energy-industry-policy-renewables-natural-gas/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">market forces and economics have driven the demise of coal</a>. However, our research suggests that a continued focus on federal policy is a more effective route for reducing emissions.</p><p>The Biden administration has already <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/president-biden-takes-office/2021/01/27/960941799/biden-to-pause-oil-and-gas-leasing-on-public-lands-and-waters" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">halted new leases</a> for coal, oil and gas extraction on federal lands. And its climate task force – which includes the Cabinet-level department and agency heads – <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/02/11/readout-of-the-first-national-climate-task-force-meeting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">met in</a> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/11/climate/biden-climate-change.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">February</a> to start coordinating <a href="https://theconversation.com/biden-plans-to-fight-climate-change-in-a-way-no-u-s-president-has-done-before-152419" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">government-wide</a> climate change solutions. Those likely will include new regulations and could include a price on carbon.</p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTcwMzM2Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxNjAzMTEwNn0.vvLRY5Hd-ZUC7v9FF7TAv4ea0jv2hS8gqJUzh15KJcM/img.png?width=980" id="a304a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9c74d6048af72ea038d4d550ca9f736b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1288" data-height="676" />
<h3>What's Next</h3><p>Our current work sheds light on where responsibility lies for the acceleration of coal-fired power unit retirements through late 2016.</p><p>Next, we are interested in expanding on our findings about differences between renewable energy use and initial adoption. Understanding how to increase use of renewable sources, while creating new businesses and jobs, is a critical research agenda for addressing climate change.</p>
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<em>David Drake is an assistant professor of strategy, entrepreneurship and operations management at the University of Colorado Boulder.<br/>
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<em>Jeffrey York is an associate professor of strategy and entrepreneurship at the University of Colorado Boulder.</em>
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<em>Disclosure statement: </em><em>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</em>
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<em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://theconversation.com/whats-really-driving-coal-powers-demise-153868" target="_blank">The Conversation</a>.</em>
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LumiNola / E+ / Getty Images
By Gwen Ranniger
Fertility issues are on the rise, and new literature points to ways that your environment may be part of the problem. We've rounded up some changes you can make in your life to promote a healthy reproductive system.
Infertility and Environmental Health: The Facts
<ul> <li>Sperm count is declining steeply, significantly, and continuously in Western countries, with no signs of tapering off. Erectile dysfunction is on the rise, and women are facing increasing rates of miscarriage and difficulty conceiving.</li><li>Why? A huge factor is our environmental health. Hormones (particularly testosterone and estrogen) are what make reproductive function possible, and our hormones are increasingly being negatively affected by harmful, endocrine-disrupting chemicals commonplace in the modern world—in our homes, foods, and lifestyles.</li></ul>What You Can Do About It
<p>It should be noted that infertility can be caused by any number of factors, including medical conditions that cannot be solved with a simple change at home.</p><p><em>If you or a loved one are struggling with infertility, our hearts and sympathies are with you. Your pain is validated and we hope you receive answers to your struggles.</em></p><p>Read on to discover our tips to restore or improve reproductive health by removing harmful habits and chemicals from your environment.</p>Edit Your Health
<ul><li>If you smoke, quit! Smoking is toxic, period. If someone in your household smokes, urge them to quit or institute a no-smoking ban in the house. It is just as important to avoid secondhand smoke.</li><li>Maintain a healthy weight. Make sure your caloric intake is right for your body and strive for moderate exercise.</li><li>Eat cleanly! Focus on whole foods and less processed meals and snacks. Studies have found that eating a Mediterranean-style diet is linked to increased fertility.</li><li>Minimize negative/constant stress—or find ways to manage it. Hobbies such as meditation or yoga that encourage practiced breathing are great options to reduce the physical toll of stress.</li></ul>Edit Your Home
<p>We spend a lot of time in our homes—and care that what we bring into them will not harm us. You may not be aware that many commonly found household items are sources of harmful, endocrine-disrupting compounds. Read on to find steps you can take—and replacements you should make—in your home.</p><p><strong>In the Kitchen</strong></p><ul> <li>Buy organic, fresh, unprocessed foods whenever possible. <a href="https://www.ehn.org/clean-grocery-shopping-guide-2648563801.html" target="_blank">Read our grocery shopping guide for more tips about food.</a></li><li>Switch to glass, ceramics, or stainless steel for food storage: plastics often contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals that affect fertility. <a href="https://www.ehn.org/bpa-pollution-2645493129.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Learn more about the dangers of plastic here.</a></li><li>Ban plastic from the microwave. If you have a plastic splatter cover, use paper towel, parchment paper, or an upside-down plate instead.</li><li>Upgrade your cookware: non-stick may make life easier, but it is made with unsafe chemical compounds that seep into your food. Cast-iron and stainless steel are great alternatives.</li><li>Filter tap water. Glass filter pitchers are an inexpensive solution; if you want to invest you may opt for an under-the-sink filter.</li><li>Check your cleaning products—many mainstream products are full of unsafe chemicals. <a href="https://www.ehn.org/how-to-shop-for-cleaning-products-while-avoiding-toxics-2648130273.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Check out our guide to safe cleaning products for more info</a>.</li></ul><p><strong>In the Bathroom </strong></p><ul> <li>Check the labels on your bathroom products: <em>fragrance-free, paraben-free, phthalate-free</em> and organic labels are all great signs. You can also scan the ingredients lists for red-flag chemicals such as: triclosan, parabens, and dibutyl phthalate. Use the <a href="https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/" target="_blank">EWG Skin Deep database</a> to vet your personal products.</li><li>Ditch the vinyl shower curtain—that new shower curtain smell is chemical-off gassing. Choose a cotton or linen based curtain instead.</li><li>Banish air fresheners—use natural fresheners (an open window, baking soda, essential oils) instead.</li></ul><p><strong>Everywhere Else</strong></p><ul><li>Remove wall-to-wall carpet. If you've been considering wood or tile, here's your sign: many synthetic carpets can emit harmful chemicals for years. If you want a rug, choose wool or plant materials such as jute or sisal.</li><li>Prevent dust build-up. Dust can absorb chemicals in the air and keep them lingering in your home. Vacuum rugs and wipe furniture, trim, windowsills, fans, TVs, etc. Make sure to have a window open while you're cleaning!</li><li>Leave shoes at the door! When you wear your shoes throughout the house, you're tracking in all kinds of chemicals. If you like wearing shoes inside, consider a dedicated pair of "indoor shoes" or slippers.</li><li>Clean out your closet—use cedar chips or lavender sachets instead of mothballs, and use "green" dry-cleaning services over traditional methods. If that isn't possible, let the clothes air out outside or in your garage for a day before putting them back in your closet.</li><li>Say no to plastic bags!</li><li>We asked 22 endocrinologists what products they use - and steer clear of—in their homes. <a href="https://www.ehn.org/nontoxic-products-2648564261.html" target="_blank">Check out their responses here</a>.</li></ul>Learn More
<ul><li>For more information and action steps, be sure to check out <em>Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race</em> by EHS adjunct scientist Shanna Swan, PhD: <a href="https://www.shannaswan.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">available for purchase here.</a></li><li><a href="https://www.ehn.org/st/Subscribe_to_Above_The_Fold" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Sign up for our Above the Fold Newsletter </a>to stay up to date about impacts on the environment and your health.</li></ul>From Your Site Articles
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