ABOUT
Smart discussion of the latest science and news on toxins in your food, water, and air, and what government agencies should be doing to protect public health. Written by EWG staff.
DONATE TO EWG!
Help us protect your health and environment! Please donate $5 to EWG today.
GET EWG'S TIPS & ACTION ALERTS
Sign Up here to receive email updates and tips from EWG and stay informed on the issues that matter most to you.
ENVIROBLOG VIA EMAIL
Join EWG's live chat with Chef Ann Cooper
School lunch: More fruits & veggies, please!
Texas Schools are Drilling for Dollars
Why do blowouts take so long to fix?
SEARCH ENVIROBLOG
FEATURED
Support the 2010 Safe Cosmetics Act. It's Urgent.
Why, oh why is there plastic in my aluminum water bottle?
Cell phone radiation series - Part 2: 8 Ways to reduce your exposure
Test Your Knowledge of Cosmetics Safety: 8 Myths Debunked
EWG's Tips for Parents: The Series
EWG's Tips to avoid BPA exposure
EWG on TV
Cutting the Pork from U.S. Farm Bill
Sunscreen safety & DC drinking water
Perchlorate in people, kids' personal care products & plastics, and sunscreen
BPA in baby formula & safe cosmetics
What can I do about fluoride in my water?
What is new carpet treated with? What can I do?
Are stainless steel water bottles safe?
Is mineral-based makeup safer?
PEOPLE TALKING TOXICS
TALK TO US
Did we miss something? Email Enviroblog.
« Phthalate-induced asthma: Gasping for breath | Main | Out of the frying pan: Sludge fertilizer as the antidote to lead poisoning »
50 things, simple and not so simple
Twenty years ago, in a Berkeley attic, freelance journalist John Javna wrote and self-published one of the most important books of 20th Century environmentalism. 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth went on to sell 5 million copies. It was a great success, but also caught some backlash – I recall Gar Smith of the Earth Island Journal writing a parody called "50 Really Hard Things You Can Do to Save the Earth." ("1. Get rid of your car.") The book eventually went out of print, but its concept – an accessible list of things average citizens might actually feel they can do – has been copied and modified hundreds of times.
Now Javna, inspired anew by the environmental consciences of his two teenagers, has returned with a new edition – this time paired (of course) with a website, www.50simplethings.com. And this time, his list of things isn't quite so simple.
The new 50 Simple Things partnered with 50 environmental groups, including EWG. Each group picked one issue to explore in depth, telling you how to start close to home but keep pushing for change at the state, national or even international level. For example, EWG's chapter and web page, "We've Got Chemistry," includes our Everyday Pollution Solutions, but also urges readers to support the Kid Safe Chemical Act, federal legislation that would require that chemicals are safe for kids before they're allowed on the market.
Most of the nation's major environmental groups are in the new 50 Simple Things, but there are plenty of groups I was glad to learn about, like CoolCities and 1Sky. My favorite (non-EWG) group in the book: Interfaith Power & Light, run by EWG board member the Rev. Sally Bingham.
thanks for the shout out. we like EWG too!