Tampa Bay Conservation League

Is Apple playing games with its environmental certifications?

2011-11-07T18:25:00.002-05:00

Apple claims on its website that it is RoHS (pronounced "rose") compliant.

RoHS is a fairly straightforward European environmental regulation and, generally, mandates limits on the amount of certain toxic substances (lead, mercury, cadmium, and certain flame retardants) used in many electronics products.

Generally, the maximum permitted concentrations are 0.1% or 1000 ppm (except for Cadmium, which has an even more severe limit).

So, 0.1% is the limit.

Now here's what's interesting. There is a separate environmental law in China, referred to as "China RoHS", which currently mandates that if a manufacturer is above the 0.1% limit, they have to make a disclosure in the product's manual (it currently only mandates disclosure, not the actual elimination of the toxic substance).

Which brings me to this disclosure hidden in the back of the current iPAD 2 docking station user manual:

To translate, this document says that the circuit board and the "enclosure" (whatever that means) have lead concentrations higher than 0.1% (denoted by the "x").

In addition, the "10" with a circle on the bottom is mandated by China's law to describe how long the manufacturer believes that the product will not degrade or leach the toxic substance (the number 10 means 10 years).

Which brings us to the perplexing question: Why is Apple saying they are RoHS compliant, when in fact, they are separately disclosing that they aren't?

It appears that Apple is playing games.

Gatwick Airport: The road is littered with good intentions

2011-08-15T21:38:00.001-04:00

Leaking batteries cause issues for workers and the environment

On a recent trip to London, we noticed something odd at the North Terminal at Gatwick Airport: Very large rust-colored stains near large electrical recharging stations.

This struck us as interesting, as these type of stains are not actually rust, they are usually stains from battery acid leaks. We've seen a lot, but we were astonished at the sheer quantity of leakage, which has immediate environmental and health consequences, both to local water and soil quality, as well as workers at Gatwick. It's possible that the charging stations have banks of lead-acid batteries, and hence are leaking at an unacceptable rate.

To explain, battery acid is sulfuric acid and is used in lead-acid batteries. Since the lead plates are immersed in acid, the acid itself becomes highly concentrated with lead. Typically, when batteries are recycled, the lead content is so significant that the acid is first leached through a contained soil mixture, encased in concrete and sent to a landfill. It's certainly not something to casually allow to spill.

Curious, we did a bit of research and found that several years ago, Gatwick had initiated a highly laudable program to improve air quality, and one of the initiatives was to replace all gas vehicles at the North Terminal (not the South Terminal) with electric vehicles. Unfortunately for British Airways, it appears that the charging stations were all put right there in the BA area.

(Most modern electric vehicles of the type used in an industrial capacity use lead-acid batteries, as they are far cheaper than the NiCad or Lithium Ion batteries used on modern electric cars).

Unfortunately, one has to assiduously manage large-scale implementations of electric vehicles so that a) the vehicles don't leak battery acid (which they commonly do, unless one is using one of the more modern sealed types), and b) that banks of batteries don't leak acid as well.

We also noticed numerous other battery stains, throughout the tarmac and in various parking areas, indicating that the electric vehicles are also leaking.

London Gatwick Airport has a problem, and they need it clean this up. If the charging stations are leaking, they need to be cleaned up and sealed; and the batteries in the vehicles must be sealed, replaced or replaced with modern sealed AGM type batteries.

To wit, this is something even clearly perceivable from satellite: Google Maps.

We'd prefer the use of gas or diesel if this is what you get instead.

Pasco eco-fest coming up...

2011-08-15T20:56:00.000-04:00

This looks cool. November 19-20 will be the Pasco Eco-Fest, at the Jay B. Starkey wilderness park in New Port Richey. More here.

Supporters come out for clean water in Tampa

2011-06-24T20:53:00.000-04:00

60 supporters showed up at a Tampa City Council meeting to push for an ordinance banning the purchase and use of nitrogen fertilizer during our rainy season...and the vote passed! Tampa now joins Pinellas County (where we are) in doing the same.

This is a great day for water quality in the Tampa Bay!

Manatee County passes fertilizer ordinance

2011-05-24T20:52:00.000-04:00

This is great news. Manatee County is now the 36th local government banning the use of fertilizers during the rainy season. City of Tampa, Charlotte and Collier County in the process of debating similar bills. Show your support.

Water Quality Fight Update

2011-03-23T20:48:00.000-04:00

From the Sierra Club:

March 23, 2011: HB 457, a bill that would preempt and gut fertilizer regulation ordinances adopted by 40 local governments throughout Florida, passed this morning in the House Community and Military Affairs Subcommittee by one vote. The 8 to 7 vote count is below (all democrats and two republicans voted no).

Congressman Rooney rider to the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution

2011-02-08T18:43:00.000-05:00

The Congressman Rooney rider to the Fiscal Year 2011 Continuing Resolution, which stops the EPA from implementing new freshwater water quality standards, was adopted by the House of Representatives. U.S.House budget vote threatens Florida Clean Water Rule

Now the fight goes to the senate...

If you're in Cedar Key, remember John Muir

2011-01-15T19:55:00.000-05:00

One my favorite naturalists, John Muir, spent time here in Florida -- actually, several months in 1867. He arrived at Cedar Key in October, seven weeks after setting out from Indiana on a "thousand-mile walk to the Gulf."

If you're in Cedar Key, you can go by John Muir historical marker. More here.

Renewable Electricity Standard Amendment

2007-06-12T12:17:00.000-04:00

More jobs...
Less pollution...
Cheaper electricity bills...

We're closer than ever before!

The Senate votes on a Renewable Electricity Standard Amendment THIS WEEK!

Click here to write your Senators now.

World Ocean Day

2007-06-08T23:03:00.000-04:00

Sign Our Petition

Tell the United Nations to officially declare June 8 as "World Ocean Day."

Make it Official

Peru's forests

2007-06-07T22:44:00.000-04:00

In a major advance in our campaign to halt Peru's export of endangered mahogany, Congress and the Bush administration have agreed to include key protections against illegal logging in the U.S.-Peru trade agreement. Each year, loggers cut down thousands of majestic mahogany trees, laying waste to the lush habitat of the squirrel monkey and threatening the survival of indigenous peoples. More than 80 percent of this tropical timber -- much of it illegally harvested -- is bound for the United States. Congressional negotiators also insisted on measures that would prevent illegal mahogany from passing through U.S. Customs. Now, we must keep the pressure on the Peruvian government to ensure that all export mahogany is logged legally and sustainably.

» Tell the Peruvian government to do its part to curtail illegal mahogany exports.

TCBL director Alex Eckelberry argues that manatees should not be "downlisted"

2007-06-02T23:52:00.000-04:00

Alex Eckelberry, director of the Tampa Bay Conservation League, argues that Manatees should not be “downlisted” by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

More here.

Action alert!

2007-06-01T21:23:00.001-04:00

SEND YOUR LETTER TODAY!

Ask your representative to vote YES on House Resolution 94 and help us eliminate fishing subsidies.

TAKE ACTION

Tampa Bay Conservation League Director Alex Eckelberry speaks in support of the Brooker Creek Preserve

2007-05-28T21:04:00.001-04:00

Alex Eckelberry speaks in support of the Brooker Creek Preserve. More here and here.

Protect Yellowstone from Snowmobiles

2007-05-28T10:53:00.001-04:00

Protect Yellowstone from Snowmobiles Hurry...the deadline is June 5th. Click here to send your comments now.

Urge Congress to help bring clean drinking water to the world's neediest children

2007-05-28T00:35:00.000-04:00

Urge Congress to help bring clean drinking water to the world's neediest children
More than one billion people don't have access to safe drinking water, even though cost-effective solutions to the problem are available now. Urge Congress to include funding in upcoming appropriations bills to help ensure safe drinking water throughout the world.

Tell the Bush administration to halt its dangerous nuclear energy plan

2007-05-28T00:34:00.000-04:00

The Department of Energy is accepting public comments on its dangerous Global Nuclear Energy Partnership proposal until June 4th. Send a message right away urging the agency to abandon this unsafe, uneconomical and environmentally unsound plan.

Take action here.

Help Stop Aerial Gunning in Alaska

2007-05-26T13:19:00.005-04:00

Alaska's majestic gray wolves are in grave danger. Marksmen use low-flying planes to chase the wolves, run them to exhaustion and shoot them to death at point-blank range.

Save Great Cats and Rare Canids

2007-05-26T13:19:00.003-04:00

Great cats and wild canines around the world need your help. Legislation in Congress would give much needed support to people around the world who are working to save clouded leopards, jaguars, wolves and other rare cats and canines in the wild.

Save Peruvian Jaguars

2007-05-26T13:19:00.001-04:00

The Peru Free Trade Agreement would sanction the destruction of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest -- home to jaguars and other endangered species. Tell your elected officials that free trade shouldn't mean illegal trade!

Turn up the Heat!

2007-05-26T13:18:00.003-04:00

According to scientists, climate change could doom more than a million species to extinction by 2050. Please urge your Senators and Representative to support legislation to address global warming.

Oppose Harmful New Offshore Drilling

2007-05-26T13:18:00.001-04:00

Officials in the Bush/Cheney Interior Department intend to allow harmful new drilling in more than 84 million acres off the coasts of Alaska, Virginia and Florida. These areas are teeming with wildlife, including imperiled whales, sea otters and sea turtles. New drilling could destroy these sensitive coastal ecosystems and the wildlife and tourist economies that depend on them.

Take Action to Reverse Global Warming

2007-05-26T13:17:00.005-04:00

Scientists are telling us that a rise of more than two degrees Fahrenheit threatens to trigger the irreversible melting of the Greenland ice sheet, a 20-foot rise in sea levels, and the extinction of innumerable species. Congress must act this year to pass legislation that will cut our nation’s global warming pollution 25% by 2020 and 80% by 2050. Tell Congress to pass tough global warming legislation now!

Tell the Bush Administration to Protect Gray Wolves

2007-05-26T13:17:00.003-04:00

The gray wolf's extraordinary comeback from extinction in Greater Yellowstone is one of America's greatest environmental success stories. But a new Bush Administration proposal threatens to reverse this progress by paving the way for mass killing of wolves in the northern Rockies. Urge the Bush Administration not to strip Greater Yellowstone's wolves of protection under the Endangered Species Act.

Beluga Whales

2007-05-26T13:17:00.001-04:00

Help Save Alaska's Last Belugas

Only 300 beluga whales survive today in Alaska's Cook Inlet, their last refuge in U.S. waters. But if we act quickly, we can help save these magnificent creatures from extinction. The National Marine Fisheries Service is proposing that Cook Inlet belugas receive crucial protections under the Endangered Species Act. But its proposal is opposed by industry. Urge the agency to finalize this life-saving plan and give belugas a fighting chance.

ACTION TIP: STOP YOUR JUNK MAIL

2007-05-25T20:18:00.001-04:00

Did you know more than 100 million trees are destroyed each year to produce junk mail? About 28 billion gallons of water are also wasted, and the energy used to produce and dispose of junk mail exceeds 2.8 million cars.

Check out 41 Pounds. For $41, they will do all the leg-work to reduce your junk mail by 80-95% for five years, and will donate $15 to StopGlobalWarming.org. When you sign up, 41 Pounds will contact direct marketing organizations to remove your name from their lists. This includes credit card applications, coupon mailers, sweepstakes entries, magazine offers and insurance promotions, as well as any catalogs you specify. Save time! Save trees! Save the planet!

'THE GREEN'

2007-05-25T20:17:00.001-04:00

THE GREEN is television's first regularly-scheduled programming destination dedicated entirely to the environment. THE GREEN presents original series and documentary premieres about the earth's ecology and concepts of "green" living that balance human needs with responsible care for the planet. Among other great programs, check out "Big Ideas for a Small Planet", a documentary series presenting the forward thinking designers, products and processes that are on the leading edge of the new green world.

Watch THE GREEN, Tuesdays at 9pm on the Sundance Channel.

Lead in fishing rods and reels

2007-05-25T19:48:00.000-04:00

If you've been shopping for a fishing pole or reel lately, you're almost certainly going to see a "Prop 65" warning. This is statement mandated by California's Prop 65 law, requiring a warning if someone may come into contact with certain cancer-causing materials.

This warning is only required on products sold in California. However, since most companies distribute nationally and don't know where their their products will ultimatley end up, it's usually put on all products going anywhere in the US. If you don't see the warning on a rod or reel, it still doesn't mean it's lead free. It could be only marketed in a geographic region outside of California.

Lead is considered cancer-causing, and hence, you'll see this warning on fishing rods and reels because they almost always use lead paint (that's how you get that shiny look).

Now, instead of a specific warning about lead, most manufacturers will attempt to hide this fact by using the generic "cancer" warning allowed under Prop 65. The warning often goes something like this:

WARNING: This product containts chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm.

Scary message, but then most people just thing "oh heck, what doesn't cause cancer these days" and move on (I doubt most people would think that it's a lead warning). And if you do hunt around, you'll find something reassuring like this message from Shakespeare.

Interested in finding a lead-free alternative? Good luck. It's basically non-existent (if you find otherwise, please post a comment).

What is fairly astounding is that both Shakespeare and Zebco tried to sell "kids" fishing rod and reel combinations that had lead paint in them. There was a subsequent recall, and it appears that the children's new rod and reel combos are lead-free.

Now, there are really only two ways that I know of to get a lead-free fishing rod and reel: Buy the Zebco or Shakespeare children's fishing kits (these are the ones with colorful Batman and Robin, etc. -- real kiddie stuff); or buy the Jr. Fisherman Rod and Reel combination from Outdoor Adventure (only the 2007 models, not the earlier 2006 models). In fact, at this point, I would only recommend the Outdoor Adventure models as Zebco and Shakespeare both had the audacity to ship a "children's rod and reel" combination with lead in them (although they have apparently stopped doing this subsequent to the recall).

In order to be lead-free, also make sure to also use lead-free tackle (jigs, weights, etc.).

Good luck and good fishing.

Tampa Bay Conservation League

Fishing lead-free

2007-05-25T19:47:00.000-04:00

Over 7 tons of lead was dredged up in one area of Miami recently. Source? Lead fishing tackle.

It's not only an environmental problem. It's a health issue.

Going lead-free makes sense. And it's trivially easy, with no real added cost. The Minnesota Pollution Control agency has a good list of suppliers, here.

I'm still researching the subject, but have contacted a couple of manufacturers, First Mate Lures and Timmy Toms, who both assure me that they use only non-lead materials and lead-free paint.

I will also cover the problem of lead in fishing poles and rods in my next blog post.

Tampa Bay Conservation League