L.A. Green Bean

Hi LAgb fans. It's been a long time since we've posted. Sorry about that. We finally made the switch to give LAgb its much needed makeover. So, please be patient if you notice that some of the old posts look different. Also, we'll be fixing and updating and playing with the new look until we find something we think you'll love!

Glad to be back!

Till next time,

LAgb

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add 16 chemicals to the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) list of reportable chemicals, the first expansion of the program in more than a decade. Established as part of the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act (EPCRA), TRI is a publicly available EPA database that contains information on toxic chemical releases and waste management activities reported annually by certain industries as well as federal facilities. The proposal is part of Administrator Lisa P.

A Princeton University research team has demonstrated that all sweeteners are not equal when it comes to weight gain: Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

Poor kids. L.A. should get with the mass transit.

From the L.A. Weekly

On a recent afternoon in the Eastside neighborhood of Lincoln Heights, Fay Green stands in the hallway of her apartment complex, which sits just feet above the bumper-to-bumper traffic of the I-5 freeway.

Some fish oil capsules sold as health supplements for their Omega-3 fatty acids content have illegally undisclosed unnecessarily high levels of contamination with polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) compounds, according to a lawsuit filed [March 2, 2010] in California court.

Still one major complaint of companies like Q Collection is that while beautifully crafted and sustainable, its furniture and fabric products are out of the reach of most consumers.

But Q Collection is one of LAgb's favorites. And hats off to its team for not only its seamless blend of design and environmental concepts, but also keeping us informed about how chemicals impact our lives.

From Q Collection:

LAgb is always up for spring cleaning. The mopping, spraying, rubbing, and side-to-side movements are titillating enough. But the creative concoctions of vinegar, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide as natural house cleaners is what really gets the cleaning mojo going. And to think, all that fun and good cleaning helps keep toxic house dust away from loved ones.

From the Environmental Working Group:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is launching a new Web site giving the public additional opportunity to participate in the agency’s rulemaking process, demonstrating President Obama’s commitment to more transparent and open government. The online Rulemaking Gateway serves as a portal to EPA’s priority rules, providing citizens with earlier and more concise information about agency regulations.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is setting the first standards that will reduce emissions of formaldehyde, benzene, acrolein and other toxic air pollutants from certain stationary diesel engines. These pollutants are known or suspected to cause cancer or other serious health problems and environmental damage.

Mr. Burns would be happy indeed.

LAgb is still sitting on the fence about nuclear energy, mainly because nuclear plants produce waste that poses dangers to communities and the environment. But these reactors promise efficiency, and may help the U.S. in building a carbon-free future for Americans.

From the Wall Street Journal: