Results tagged “environment>”

D.C. Council member Mary Cheh (D-Ward 3) has introduced a bill that would ban more than a dozen hazardous chemicals from being sold in the District, the Examiner reports. Among the materials listed in the proposed ban: Mattresses and furniture containing polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, which act as flame retardents; food or beverage containers intended for children younger than 6 that contain Bisphenol-A, or BPA, which has been linked to neurological health problems; and body scrub beauty products that contain synthetic microbeads, which are often blamed for contributing to oceanic pollution.

By DCist Contributor Lauren Evans

Lots of reports came in yesterday that one half of the heralded "green" arm of the city's Summer Youth Jobs Program, the Mayor's Conservation Corps, had hit the streets around town to pass out paper fliers that are designed to hang on people's doors, except that many of them just ended up as trash on the street. Head over to Scott's Take for the best coverage we've seen so far.

Before getting started on crime bill debate, the D.C. Council went ahead and passed the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act on a second reading earlier today, sending the legislation to Mayor Fenty for his signature. The first vote took place just two weeks ago; both votes were unanimous. The key feature of the law is a new 5 cent fee on consumers per paper or plastic carryout bag taken from District retailers. If all goes according to plan, and there's no reason at this point to think it won't, the five cent fees would be in place by January, 2010, so you've got roughly six months to get used to carrying around your own reusable bags.

The United Nations must be a fan of the D.C. Council's intention to impose a 5 cent fee on consumers for every disposable bag -- the international body's environmental chief this week called for a worldwide ban on single-use plastic bags. Via McClatchy:

"Single use plastic bags which choke marine life, should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere. There is simply zero justification for manufacturing them anymore, anywhere," said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme. His office advises U.N. member states on environmental policies.

Continue reading "UN Calls for Global Ban on Plastic Bags"

Stock up on your canvas bags, everybody. The Washington Times has its story up already: the D.C. Council voted unanimously just a little while ago to give initial approval to the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Act of 2009, which among other things enacts a 5 cent fee on consumers per paper or plastic carryout bag taken from District retailers - retailers get to keep one cent of the fee, with the other four cents going toward Anacostia River cleanup. The bill also bans the use of non-recyclable disposable plastic carryout bags by retailers.

This Friday, May 15 is the annual national Bike to Work Day (not to be confused with D.C.'s local Car Free DC Day, which happens in September). The Washington Area Bicyclist Association is once again taking the lead in organizing this year's event locally, and they're asking those of you who plan to participate to pre-register before showing up at the relevant "pit stop" on Friday morning. Registration is free, and allows the organizers to make sure each "pit stop" has enough supplies on hand to handle the crowds. Each "pit stop" will offer free breakfast and entertainment, plus the chance to win bicycles and other prizes. Registration also makes you eligible to receive a free T-shirt (the first 7,000 registrants who show up to their pit stops will get the shirts).

In an announcement oddly timed with Earth Day, the Washington Mystics today inked a sponsorship deal with ExxonMobil, reports the Washington Business Journal. The massive oil company will now display courtside ads during Mystics games, a move that should place the team right alongside the Nationals as major targets of environmental protesters. Exxon will also become the official sponsor of the Mystics Student of the Week program. The Student of the Week program recognizes female high school students for excellence in math or science.

With Earth Day just around the corner, this month will see a flurry of activity focused on environmental issues. As one would expect, artists are also stepping up to the plate, adding their voices to the chorus of people calling for a societal shift that gives more attention to how human activity affects the natural environment. This Saturday, storyteller/poet David Gonzalez will team up with a group of multi-media artists at the Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center to present Wounded Splendor, an examination of the Earth's natural beauty that advocates for its preservation and stewardship.

The consensus on Sunday morning's coal ash spill in Luke, Md. seems to be that it coulda been a lot worse. Yes, 4,000 gallons of the toxic liquid ash leaked out of a pipeline over the Potomac River's North Branch, but the AP has already declared the spill doesn't appear to have done much harm, and fears about water safety in the D.C. region have been largely put to rest. But given the attention coal ash has been getting since December's catastrophic spill in Tennessee, this weekend's tiny-by-comparison accident is still making headlines. We highly recommend reading this now prescient story from the Baltimore Sun's Timothy B. Wheeler on how the state of Maryland has been welcoming certain kinds of coal ash disposal with open arms.

Via a reader tip, Fox 5 reports that Greenpeace has taken responsibility for the polar bears that have been mistaken for suspicious packages around town over the last week. Indeed, if you go to the Greenpeace homepage, it turns out that not only was Greenpeace responsible, but they actually did it in collaboration with street artist Mark Jenkins -- so both of our guesses were correct!

Greenpeace has unveiled a collaborative art project with well-known street artist Mark Jenkins. The project highlights the shared plight of polar bears and humans in the face of global warming. We hope these polar bear street art installations help people draw a deeper and more immediate connection to the reality of the crisis.

Continue reading "Greenpeace, Mark Jenkins Take Responsibility for Polar Bears"

Flickr user benmiller23 spotted this polar bear installation, which looks very similar to the one that a bomb squad tore apart after shutting down surrounding streets and a Metro station in Columbia Heights today, on the National Mall on Thursday, Sept. 11.

Over at Grist, Mike Tidwell writes about how ExxonMobil, "the biggest contributor to global warming of any company in the world," has become the target of some Nats fans who see the oil company's sponsorship of the 7th-inning stretch at Nationals Park as hugely hypocritical given that the stadium is touted as being the first "green" ballpark in the country.

Today, Radiohead kicks off its In Rainbows world tour in West Palm Beach, Florida, which means that D.C.-area fans are mere days away from getting their fix.

With springtime comes anticipation of blooming gardens and leafy green trees. The federal government doesn't have quite the same excitement, we would guess, based on their recent slashing of the U.S. National Arboretum's budget, as the Washington Post reported this weekend. The $2 million eliminated from next year's budget could drastically cut public programming, research on rare and new species of plants, and permanently stall much needed expansion projects.

Washington, D.C. has quickly become a pioneer for environmental sustainability. The new Nationals stadium, for example, is the first baseball stadium in the country to receive LEED certification. Certification for LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is given by the U.S. Green Building Council, when buildings qualify for a certain number of points in five categories: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality.

By now, everyone knows that some fish in the filthy Potomac River have developed both male and female reproductive systems. They've been dubbed "intersex" by the media, and we've all had a nervous laugh about how the pollution we've poured into the river is probably to blame for creating the first ever bi-gendered fish. Whoops! How were we to know?

The Post reports on Virginia's move to ban the sale of dishwasher detergents that contain phosphates. Phosphorus has been found to be a major source of pollution in the struggling Chesapeake Bay.

If you're the kind of person who gets excited reading about green roofs and community building projects, Washington Parks & People may be able to fuel your desire to put a hand in making your neighborhood a better place to live. This 18 year-old community group has played a vital role in turning D.C. parks, like Meridian Hill and Marvin Gaye Parks, from dangerous, crime-ridden areas to places where people play and see performances and just enjoy some greenery.

The name may be unfamiliar, but the players behind Club Tiger Promotions are highly recognizable to any one who follows the D.C. music scene. Local artists Carol Bui and Jay Smith of Middle Distance Runner have started an all-ages venue, The Lab in Alexandria, which will both give under-age bands a place to play with their more seasoned peers and serve as an environment where, as Bui puts it, "kids feel totally comfortable and safe...

Impressionism, one of the most popular and accessible art movements, continues with yet another show at the Phillips Collection — on the heels of American Impressionism, comes Impressionists by the Sea, an exploration of the rise of plein air painting and vacationing on the northern coast of France. Opening tomorrow, the exhibit features the major French Impressionists, along with some of their predecessors, to present a lush visual experience. The exhibit is a feast for...

Many of you have already visited the "Solar Village" since it opened its gates last Friday on the National Mall. Last weekend the long lines literally wrapped around each house entered into the 2007 Solar Decathlon, with people eager to get a tour from the students, alumni and faculty from each university competitor. The ten competitions have been judged all week, from Architecture last week to Engineering today, with individual winners announced for each leg...

Written by DCist contributor Amy Cavanaugh With all the Smithsonian museums clustered around the mall, it’s easy to overlook the Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, which has been chronicling the life of the area’s residents since 1967. Their new exhibit, East of the River: Continuity and Change, celebrates 500 years of southeast Washington in a sweeping overview of its triumphs and tragedies. From archaeological artifacts to paintings to documents to video, the multimedia components of East...

Morning, Washington. We hope you were out enjoying the fantastic weather, especially since the environment has been front and center in the news this weekend. As you must have heard, our former Vice President turned Global Warming Guru had to shove over the Oscar on his mantle to make space for half of a Nobel Peace Prize. Maybe after the news you were inspired to go check out the 20 amazing houses built on the...

We may write all the time about our developing neighborhoods, but one D.C. block is getting super-developed as we speak. Stroll down to the National Mall between today and October 20 and you'll find yourself in the middle of the Solar Village, where twenty universities have descended on the strip with their brilliant innovations costing hundreds of thousands of dollars, to compete in Solar Decathlon 2007. The entire event is open to the public with...

If you missed the Green Festival at the Convention Center this past weekend, you missed an incredible event. Luckily event organizers will be posting video and audio of the plethora of speeches to their website in about two weeks. You'll also be able to download speech audio from this year’s upcoming San Francisco, Seattle and Chicago festivals. The Green Festival is sponsored by Co-Op America and Global Exchange. The event is largely volunteer-run, with 1300...

Former Editor-in-Chief Ryan Avent writes a weekly column about neighborhood and development issues. Brookland recently got the news that Dwellings, a home furnishings store and one of our most promising main street retailers, was closing due to slow growth in sales. The announcement touched off a neighborhood discussion on what was wrong, exactly, with the shopping environment in the leafy, residential neighborhood. Many locals noted that low residential density made running a retail business a...

Cultural Tourism DC's free WalkingTown DC event this Saturday, Sept. 29 has a walking tour for everyone, but one of the tours that most interests us is the "What’s Going On: Marvin Gaye Park" tour, led by volunteer Steve Coleman and presented by the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development. From 10 to 11:30 a.m., participants will have the opportunity to follow the path of famed soul singer Marvin Gaye’s early life growing up...

Written by Buy Indie's Vince Wadhwani It's easy to justify going to an independent clothing boutique to find a unique outfit. After all, who wants to walk into a bar wearing the same thing as everyone else? But when it comes to our housewares and hardware, the equation often becomes a lot less complicated. Though you may not find a pink toolbelt over at the Home Depot, you also won't find too many people fretting...

>> Earl Cunningham's America, which opens this Friday at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, features 50 paintings by one of the foremost folk artists of the 20th century. Known for his use of space and brilliant colors, Cunningham juxtaposes the ordinary with the unexpected and puts familiar subjects in unfamiliar settings. The result is an insightful commentary on American life and culture. >> Those looking for something new will have the chance to make their...