whatever is the equivalent of nationalist, applied to the state level… I’m that

California is very innovative and a leader in becoming “green” and sustainable.

California officials today unveiled a six-step strategy to promote use of safer, sustainable chemicals and wean the state’s industries and consumers off toxic compounds.

Twenty months in the works, the recommendations from Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s staff are a mix of regulatory and voluntary strategies. State officials say it would be the most comprehensive program in the nation to push industries toward following the tenets of green chemistry.

Green chemistry alters how products are designed and manufactured by choosing compounds that do not produce hazardous waste. Of the 83,000 known chemicals, only a few hundred are considered green. Of the others, hundreds are harmful to humans and nature. And for a vast majority, the risks are still unknown.

You can read the full article HERE, which details the program.

here is some good news, for a change

In a first, environmental health scientists and chemists are joining forces to find safe chemicals, as reported by Environmental Health News.

The goal of the collaboration is to merge the knowledge and ideas of toxicologists and others who specialize in the dangers posed by chemicals with experts in green chemistry, who design nontoxic, environmentally benign materials.

After reading the article, and the proposals put forth at this conference, I believe they are heading in the right direction. There is an understanding of the current limitations, and a concise plan to move forward. For example:

“The current regulatory strategy of testing chemicals one by one cannot possibly identify all of the substances that threaten health,” said Joe Thornton, an associate professor in the Center for Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Oregon.

Thornton recommended three changes:

* Reform the nation’s chemical-by-chemical regulatory process.
* Put precautionary policies in place when the science about a compound is uncertain.
* End the use of chemicals with properties that are likely to disrupt hormones.

Goldman said one major barrier is that chemicals are regulated one at a time, while in human bodies, they always occur in mixtures.

I was sad to read that because of lack of regulation, lack of funding, and lack of training, there are only 300 of the 83,000 chemists that embrace “green” chemistry. I think the hope of this conference is to move the entire community into the right direction.