Brown Grove, Virginia Needs Help: About 90 miles from Fairfax, the community of Brown Grove, VA is under threat from expanded industrial activity. This community was established over 150 years ago by formerly enslaved men and women who united to form a community that has struggled to remain intact in the face of big business. …

Japanese Waste Reduction: As we look for best practices to reduce waste we can find inspiration domestically and abroad. There was a great strategy proposed in Japan that would reduce their plastic waste stream by over 50%. In 2018, Japan generated 8.91 million tons of plastic waste, and almost 5 million tons were from the …

The plastic crisis is not all doom and gloom, even with the uncertainties caused by the Covid pandemic, there are positive steps to reduce plastic waste happening right now! Maryland Styrofoam Foodware Ban: As of October, 1st, expanded polystyrene (EPS), commonly referred to as Styrofoam, food and beverage containers are banned in Maryland! For anyone …

  Autonomous Trash Interceptors, Floating Roombas: A Dutch inventor has created The Ocean Cleanup where they are using autonomous interceptors to remove trash after it has entered rivers. Autonomous Interceptors are large anchored floating structures that use river currents to collect trash, kind of like a Roomba in your house. One of these autonomous interceptors …

Yesterday, along with constituents of Virginia’s 10th congressional district, we met virtually with a staffer from Congresswoman Wexton’s office to discuss the problems we all face everyday with plastic waste and the importance of the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act (BFFPPA). Today we thought we’d share some more information about why this bill is …

  (Plastic waste in a Fairfax County stream. Photo credit: Clean Fairfax) We have scheduled a meeting with Representative Jennifer Wexton’s (Virginia’s 10th district), environmental staffer. If Jennifer Wexton is your Congressional Representative, this is your chance to let her know you want her to support the Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act! Our meeting …

Plastic legislation is on the move! New Jersey Plastic Ban: The New Jersey state Legislature has passed one of the strongest plastic waste reduction bill in the country. New Jersey’s bill will ban single use plastic and paper bags from stores and restaurants in addition to expanded polystyrene (Styrofoam) food and drink service containers. This …

To get everyone ready for the weekend, we wanted to share some good environmental news. There are serious environmental issues that must be dealt with, but we can still celebrate good things that have happened. The End of Coal: The push to end the use of coal power just got another significant backer, General Electric. …

Facebook Suspends Environmental Groups: Have you wondered why we’re giving you news this way instead of daily on Facebook? Facebook recently made an announcement about being, “committed to tackling climate misinformation” and then immediately suspended the accounts of environmental groups who are actively working to protect people and communities against climate change. The timing on …

Last week we shared the NPR and PBS investigation into lies told by the fossil fuel industry, this week let’s look into one of those lies. The idea of the personal “carbon footprint” was an advertising campaign from British Petroleum (BP) complete with their “carbon footprint calculator” to let individuals know how they personally are …