Topic: public health

“Hidden hazards” in children’s toys still abound

December 8, 2008 |

Washington, DC: Hazardous toys are still sold in stores across the country, despite a new law overhauling the nation’s product safety watchdog agency, according to the 23rd annual toy safety survey released today by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group. The group also warned that the Consumer Product Safety Commission may delay one of the new law’s toxic toy protections indefinitely.

“While the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act is a major step forward, many of its protections don’t take effect until 2009, so it’s still ‘buyer beware’ for this shopping season,” said U.S. PIRG Public Health Advocate Liz Hitchcock. “Worse, last week the CPSC told companies that they could keep selling toys with toxic phthalate chemicals until they ran out of them, despite the law’s clear prohibition against selling them after Feb. 10.”

According to the most recent data from the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), toy-related injuries sent more than 80,000 children under the age of five to emergency rooms in 2007. Eighteen children died from toy-related injuries that year. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Business, News | 1 Comment »

EPA public comment deadline fast approaching!

November 26, 2008 |

RepowerAmerica is asking the general public to step forward and let the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) know its concerns over carbon dioxide regulation. The deadline to submit your comments is Friday night.

From the desk of Cathy Zoi, CEO, RepowerAmerica.org:

In April 2007 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency has the authority to regulate carbon dioxide if it is harming our health and welfare. After more than a year of delay, the EPA is finally now requesting public comments on whether carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping pollutants are endangering our health and our climate.

For nearly eight years, the Bush administration has done nothing to address the growing threats we face from global warming. Hurricanes are getting stronger, the North polar icecap is melting, and we’ve suffered through intense droughts, floods and killer heat waves. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Opinion, Politics | No Comments

‘Abstinence Only’ is government censorship

By Chris Lugo | June 20, 2008 |

Chris Lugo, author of this position statement, is the Green party Candidate for the Tennessee State Senate.

According to a recent report from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, at least one in four teenage girls nationwide have a sexually transmitted disease. Clearly abstinence only school programs do not deter young people from sexual activity, but in fact this direction actually deters young adults from access to information that they need to make responsible and safe choices. We must act immediately to withdraw funding for this program and allow teachers to present sensible sexual education curriculum.

As a candidate for federal office I believe that young people must be presented with all the facts available to them. Instead of relying on religious rhetoric and the value system of a fundamentalist minority, I believe that we must look clearly at human behavior as biological fact. The school system is not an avenue for proselytizing about various belief systems. Sexual activity is a fact of life, much like any other human activity and young people need to know the facts before it is too late. «Read the rest of this article»

Sections: Education, Opinion | 2 Comments

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