Bill would have makers reduce it, pay for recycling

It can seem a green contradiction: Compact fluorescent lights - those spiral energy-efficient bulbs used to fight global warming - contain mercury, a toxic metal. If the bulb breaks, mercury vapor can harm infants, pregnant women, and children. If tossed in landfills or incinerators, discarded bulbs can pollute the environment.

Now, as sales balloon, Maine legislators have voted overwhelmingly for first-in-the-nation legislation requiring manufacturers to reduce the mercury in all fluorescent lights and pay for recycling each bulb safely. That cost is estimated to be 50 cents to $1 per bulb.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/
maine/articles/2009/05/29/
maine_bill_would_require_light_bulb_manufacturers_to_reduce_mercury/

A lawsuit filed Thursday against EPA marks the first legal action to deal with ocean acidification, reports the Environment News Service. The suit is brought on by the Center for Biological Diversity and blames the EPA for negligence in recognizing the impact of acidification in Washington’s waters.

It’s also important because it deals with the naming of carbon dioxide as a pollutant - something currently being contested by a “smoking gun” White House memo. The lawsuit has been brought up under the Clean Water Act, which regulates pollutants in water. From how I see it, this means that if EPA is found to be in the wrong under the Clean Water Act here, then CO2 will have been legally deemed a pollutant.

http://redgreenandblue.org/2009/05/15/
first-lawsuit-over-ocean-acidification-epa-ignoring-the-problem-green-group-says/

April 27 through May 1 was Green Week at the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School. With a theme of Purple Goes Green, the event was planned and organized by the student council. “All 750 students knew about Green Week and participated in one way or another in the programs,” said student council president Maxwell Nunes.

Go to the Sustainable section for the rest of the article

First published in the Vineyard Gazette, on May 22, 2009. Preprinted with permission from the Vineyard Gazette. Copyright Vineyard Gazette, all rights reserved.

Lauren Folino, has just written the perfect article to describe the newest novel way of navigating through Oak Bluffs. I too had a fun and chatty ride in one of the four Pedicabs, peddled by Jack Stevens, an islander, who is greatly enjoying his new physically challenging open-air summer job. John and Will Pasquina the owners of Vineyard Pedicab, both have past experiences with green enterprises and charitable organizations, which is why their new business is such a perfect fit. As promoters of biking, they are hoping that Vineyard Pedicab will become less of a novelty and tourist attraction, and more of a mode of transportation that the people of Oak Bluffs can depend on. They want to support the island's green organizations and businesses, and would be happy to provide their services for special events.