Environmental Justice is About Government Engaging with Communities on a Personal Level
By Edith Pestana
Edith Meeting with Community Members in Bridgeport, CT
I learned early on in my career in public service the importance of sitting down with communities to truly understand the environmental burdens they sometimes face. It is extremely valuable for those of us who serve in government, like I do for the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), to spend time with folks in their neighborhoods in order to hear and witness firsthand the disparities people sometimes experience in areas overburdened by pollution. You can’t be effective in government if you do what I call “arm chair environmental protection” which literally means that you never leave your office to see firsthand what communities experience. You also deprive yourself of creating meaningful and rewarding relationships that improve services and benefit the neighborhood community members.
My DEEP colleagues and I have spent a great deal of time sitting with people in their homes, in their places of worship, and in their surrounding environments. And, from these experiences, we have learned that meaningful communication is crucial to being effective, resolving issues in communities and doing good environmental and public health work.
I remember one particular case when agency management and staff met with people in their homes and learned that residents in their neighborhood couldn’t open the windows in their homes, have a backyard barbecue or hold a block watch meeting because of the terrible odors emanating from a nearby landfill. The visit led to state enforcement action and more importantly, the beginning of an understanding that affected policies and programs and changed the culture of the agency. Throughout the years, this cultural change in the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has enabled us to have better communication with the public and a better understanding of and empathy for the issues faced in communities. We have also been able to successfully build long-standing relationships with environmental justice leaders in Connecticut.
In another case, when we heard about illegal dumping that was happening in the inner cities of Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford, Conn., we visited the communities and saw firsthand how the trash was devastating these neighborhoods. It invigorated us to partner with the residents and other stakeholders to clean up the trash. This not only led to redevelopment and reinvestment, but the gains from these relationships included the early resolution of potential issues before they become problems and a quicker response in the areas of enforcement, remediation, and permitting in these communities.
All communities have the right to be heard by their government representatives and to participate in the government process in ways that influence positive changes in the neighborhood and improve their quality of life. The best way for officials to ensure that local communities are being heard is to go into the communities and listen!
Edith Pestana, is the Administrator of the Environmental Justice Program for the State of Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Since 1994, she has been responsible for the management of the state environmental justice program including design, policy and regulatory development and implementation. She serves on numerous boards and commissions’ including the State of Connecticut’s Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities, and is a member of the USEPA National Environmental Justice Advisory Council.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Come learn about environmental justice and equitable development at New Partners for Smart Growth!
By Megan McConville
Last time I visited Kansas City, Missouri, my host took me to the Green Impact Zone, a 150 square block area that has experienced severe economic decline. During our visit we also met with community leaders, local and regional policymakers, and federal partners who are working collaboratively to transform the area. We saw the challenges facing the neighborhood—the vacant structures, run-down housing, and dilapidated streets—but we also saw improvements to the Troost Avenue Bridge that accommodate pedestrians and buses, heard about home weatherization projects, and learned about the Neighborhood Leadership Committee, the Community Leadership training program, and other community engagement efforts.
Since then, Green Impact Zone leaders have begun redevelopment projects that will turn vacant buildings into affordable housing, small businesses, and community facilities; train unemployed residents to find jobs; improv sidewalks throughout the neighborhood; and much more.
Troost Bridge After Improvements
The Green Impact Zone is just one of many innovative efforts I’ll learn about when I return to Kansas City February 6-9, 2013 for the 12th Annual New Partners for Smart Growth Conference. Last year’s conference had over 1,500 attendees, including environmental justice leaders from across the United States. The premiere smart growth conference in the U.S., New Partners explores all aspects of the field, from community revitalization, affordable housing, and small town livability to green building, health, and climate change adaptation.
The afternoon of February 6, I’ll attend a workshop titled Sustainable Neighborhoods, Thriving Residents: Strategies for Building Equitable Communities, which will explore how low-income, minority, tribal, and overburdened communities are integrating land use and economic development strategies to revitalize their neighborhoods and build residents’ skills and wealth. Leaders from community organizations, governments, and businesses will share how they are knitting together planning, infrastructure investment, development policies, workforce training, business assistance, and other approaches to improve the physical environment, create jobs, avoid displacement, and encourage inclusive economic growth.
As the conference continues, the agenda is packed with environmental justice and equitable development-focused events (PDF), such as sessions on green zones, cleaning up freight projects, fair housing, and engaging industrial neighbors in smart growth projects. And, there are networking opportunities for people interested in regional equity and public health, and tours of diverse Kansas City neighborhoods.
The registration deadline for the conference is coming up on January 18, so make sure to sign up before it’s too late. I’ll be there and I hope to see you there too!
About the author: Megan McConville is a Policy & Planning Fellow in EPA’s Office of Sustainable Communities. She explores how overburdened communities can combine smart growth and environmental justice strategies to improve their neighborhoods, health, and quality of life.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Are you getting the basic amenities your taxes paid for?
By Omega Wilson
Many African American communities, like the Mebane, North Carolina community where I grew up, and tribal areas, lack access to basic public health amenities. The denial of or lack of access to “up-to-code” infrastructure (safe drinking water, sewer collection, paved streets, sidewalks, and storm-water management) contributes to disparities in health. Long-term exposure to deficient infrastructure often leads to disproportionately adverse health effects in low-income and minority communities than are evident in predominantly higher-income communities.
Infrastructure code standards are paid for by taxpayers, regulated by federal agencies (under the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act etc.), and maintained by state and local governments. However, in low-income and minority communities, homeowners may not get a return on their property, income, and sale taxes in the form of “basic amenities” that other higher income areas take for granted.
Removal of 20,000 Gallon Underground Petroleum Storage Tanks
In 1994, when the North Carolina Department of Transportation revealed plans for the construction of 27-mile highway through two African American communities in Mebane, our residents became aware that federal laws prohibited the use of federal money to destroy houses, churches, and cemeteries without fair compensation. Homeowners already had been denied basic amenities for decades and leaking underground storage tanks, that threatened our well water and ground water, had yet to be cleaned up.
As a result, we organized the West End Revitalization Association (WERA) to challenge the planned 8-lane interstate corridor. Residents learned from U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) officials that every taxpaying community is entitled to basic amenities guaranteed by the government. WERA translated this “common knowledge” into a list of public health disparities and drafted administrative complaints at DOJ under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and referenced the environmental justice Executive Order 12898 of 1994. DOJ asked six branches of the federal government to investigate the oversight of civil rights and public health guidelines during the highway planning process that had been going on for 16 years, without opportunities for public input.
As a result, there has been a moratorium on construction of the highway since 1999, in order to ensure that actions to mitigate the potential impacts of the construction are put in place. Additionally, more than 100 African American homeowners have had sewer lines installed for the first time, even though homes have been within two-to-three blocks from the municipal sewer treatment plant since it was constructed in 1921. Property owners were required to dig up underground storage tanks and dispose of them. And, federal matching block grants were distributed to rehabilitate houses and repair sidewalks and streets.
My experience working to improve local health and environmental conditions by ensuring that communities have access to infrastructure that reduces health disparities has taught me that we should each ask ourselves: is my community getting the basic amenities our taxed paid for?
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Building a Bridge between Environment and Equity
By Lydia Hooper
Even those of us familiar with environmental justice often cannot see this issue in our own communities without taking an in-depth look. The more I have learned about Westerly Creek in the Denver Metro Area, the more I have come to understand how the quality of this waterway is not just about public and environmental health, it’s about fairness. I have also been delightfully surprised to find that it is young people who are leading the way to change.
Westerly Creek
Most of the Westerly Creek disappears underground but it is also much nearer to homes, both factors which increase the risk of flooding damage in this neighborhood during Denver’s annual flash flood season. Moreover, the people most affected by such floods are the least protected. Flash floods often may have a dangerous wall of roaring water carrying rocks, mud and other debris that can damage property and possibly endanger lives. The area has become a resting place for refugees and immigrants, and due to numerous language and cultural barriers as well as preoccupation with the day-to-day concerns of low-income living, the majority of local residents remain unaware of these flooding dangers.
So far there have been at least three plans drawn up for a greenway along the creek, but since such a major re-engineering project would cost about $1 million per block, it has been very difficult to secure funding. But the good news is that there are some who are working to fight this injustice right now – like my colleague Donny Roush at Earth Force, an organization that empowers youth to become leaders in their communities. Roush hopes to cultivate community-based solutions through facilitation of the Earth Force Process, six-steps that use scientific inquiry, service-learning and civic action tools to engage students in taking action on environmental issues.
This past summer Roush explored Westerly Creek’s issues with a group of students from the neighborhood’s Fletcher Middle School. Earth Force helped students to conduct experiments to locate nearly 100 homes that are in areas most vulnerable to flooding. The students then decided to make and distribute brochures to educate their neighbors about local flooding dangers. “I do think we made a difference,” ninth-grader Cynthia Casillas told the Denver Post. “I think we spread awareness.”
These students will continue to work with their schools and Earth Force, and have expressed interest in not only sharing their research with residents, but with the local government as well. And as the City of Denver continues to hold meetings with the public to find ways to address the dangers from the flooding season, I won’t be surprised if community youth are the first ones to take a seat.
About the author: Lydia Hooper is the “Keep It Clean” Communications Liaison for Denver Public Works’ Wastewater Management-Water Quality Division and Earth Force, a non-profit that focuses on community partnership and facilitation of environmental service-learning projects for youth nationwide.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
By Sonam Gill
Growing up I spent the occasional weekend with my parents and brothers on Interstate 99 driving down from the Bay Area to Selma and Visalia, Calif. to visit family. While bickering with my older brothers in the backseat during what seemed like a never-ending car ride, all I could see to the left, right, and up ahead were agricultural fields. But, I had not realized the extent of pesticide use across the San Joaquin Valley until I began my internship with the Environmental Justice Program at EPA’s Regional Office in San Francisco.
Throughout the Valley, which is home to nearly 700,000 residents, many communities have raised concerns about issues related to pesticide use. Pesticides are linked to a range of health affects, from no adverse health affects at all, to minor irritations of the skin and eyes, all the way up to long term effects from repeated exposure. To help better understand the intersection between pesticide use and environmental justice, I was tasked with helping to identify vulnerable communities in the San Joaquin Valley, as measured by social vulnerability, environmental impacts, and health impacts, specifically focusing on pesticides.
San Joaquin Valley
My challenge was to use existing data to create a surrogate for determining potential exposure. I spent most of my time during the internship working collaboratively with our Pesticide Office to do just that. We refined pesticide use data for the Valley by creating a ranking approach for pesticides based on toxicity and mapped areas of high use in order to help the agency make better informed decisions regarding EPA programs and pesticide regulation.
My experience working on this project at EPA has not only enhanced my knowledge about pesticides and their use in California, but it has also provided me with an opportunity to work on a issue that I feel personally connected to because members of my immediate family live in areas of the San Joaquin Valley where pesticide use rates are some of the highest. Through our efforts on this project, incorporating community perspectives and defensible interpretations of existing data, I was able to gain valuable experience working to help provide information that is critical to informing decision-making about pesticides.
About the author: Sonam Gill joined EPA’s San Francisco Office in June 2011 as a STEP Intern, and for Fall 2011 as an Environmental Justice Eco Ambassador. She double majored at the University of California Santa Barbara in Black Studies (BA) and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (BS), and this academic year she is wrapping up a dual Master’s program (MS Environmental Management and MBA) at the University of San Francisco. She is currently writing her Master’s thesis on the cost-effectiveness of alternatives to highly applied agricultural fumigant pesticides.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
After the Storm
By Lina Younes
As millions of residents along the mid-Atlantic and northeastern regions of the United States are getting their lives back in order after Sandy’s vicious rampage, many are still dealing with the storm’s aftermath: severe flooding.
One of the many problems with flood water is that it may contain high levels of raw sewage and other contaminants that are hazardous to both your health and the environment. Above all, limit your contact with flood water!
If you were fortunate in not having flood water in your area, but still have water problems inside your home, remove and clean any water damaged items in order to avoid mold buildup. Controlling moisture is key to controlling mold in indoor environments. Exposure to mold has potential health effects that include allergic reactions, asthma attacks and other respiratory complaints. So address any water damage in your home quickly to protect your health and your family.
Are you concerned about the water quality in your area? Have you been informed by local authorities on the need to boil your water? Here you will find some valuable information onemergency disinfection of drinking water.
While utilities and local authorities are working around the clock to make sure that power is restored as quickly as possible, there are still residents without electricity due to Sandy’s wrath. Above all, do not use generators in enclosed areas inside the home or even in the garage. Why may you ask? Because generator exhaust is extremely toxic and may be lethal. Generator exhaust contains deadly carbon monoxide. Avoid using a generator or other combustion appliances inside the home.
Please be mindful that children and the elderly need special attention during these natural disasters. I know from my own personal experience listening to my parents mention that they simply “don’t feel thirsty.” Losing the sense of thirst with age puts the elderly at a greater risk of dehydration. Make sure they drink enough water even when they say they don’t feel like it.
Simple tips to help us recover from the storm. Hope they are helpful. Do you have any tips you would like to share with us?
About the author: Lina Younes has been working for EPA since 2002 and currently serves the Multilingual Outreach and Communications Liaison for EPA. She manages EPA’s social media efforts in Spanish. Prior to joining EPA, she was the Washington bureau chief for two Puerto Rican newspapers and she has worked for several government agencies.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Do you Know if your Waterway is Polluted?
Doug Norton
Pollution in the Potomac River
“How’s My Waterway?” Can you answer this question about your favorite vacation lake, or the river where you walk with your dog? Are streams in your community polluted, and what’s being done about it if they are?
Most people don’t know – and are surprised to learn – that the answers have been publicly available for years. But publicly available doesn’t always mean easily accessible and understandable.
For decades, the Clean Water Act has required tracking of water pollution problems and restoration progress across the nation. EPA public databases include detailed information about the condition of local streams and lakes, pollutants, where they come from, and progress on fixing the problems.
As an Office of Water scientist, I regularly use these databases in national and state studies of water pollution trends and restoration strategies. But even I had trouble answering the simple question: “How’s My Waterway?” These data systems weren’t designed to provide a quick look at local waters or to provide a simple explanation of what the data really mean. Chances are most people would be baffled by EPA’s complex databases and scientific information. They might say, “But all I really want to know is: How’s MY waterway? And please tell me in words I can understand.”
Map View of How's My Waterway
My project team created an exciting solution to this dilemma as part of EPA’s Water Data Project, which makes important water information more widely known and available to the general public. We developed How’s My Waterway as a simpler pathway through the same EPA database. You can instantly get localized information about waterways in map and list format by simply entering a zip code or place name. Anyone can check on local waters anywhere in the nation in seconds—even at the water’s edge, for those using smart phones.
Users can pan across the color-coded map that shows how common are the polluted, unpolluted, and unassessed waters. Waterway-specific details include the local pollutants and progress on clean-up plans. Plain-language descriptions about each pollutant explain where it comes from, whether it harms the environment and human health, and what people can do to help. Related links go to the technical database if needed or to other popular sites about beaches, drinking water, fish advisories and other water topics.
How’s My Waterway may especially help those communities where there are less resources to access and decipher complicated information from EPA’s data systems. Learning about locally polluted areas may help people avoid illnesses from swimming or eating contaminated fish, and reading the plain language descriptions can help anyone understand risks and causes. With better information, people are safer and communities are more able to take action.
What’s the health of your waterway? Now you can find out.
About the author: Doug Norton is a watershed scientist with EPA’s Office of Water who studies national pollution patterns, helps states restore polluted waters, and designs tools to help improve public understanding of water pollution issues.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
By Judy Kramer and Andrew Plumer
Have you ever wondered which chemicals are in your community and what impacts they may have on your health? Chemicals are routinely used to support all parts of American life and are integral in our agricultural, commercial, and industrial processes. Although our way of life depends on the use of many chemicals, their potential environmental impact cannot be ignored. Understanding the relationships between these substances and our environment is critical to promoting safe practices and protecting public health.
Tox Town Southwest Scene
We at the National Library of Medicine (NLM) have an interesting interactive website that introduces middle school, high school, and college students, as well as educators and the general public, to toxic chemicals in their everyday environment. Tox Town uses graphics, sounds, and animation to show the connections between chemicals, the environment, and the public’s health. There are six distinct neighborhoods in Tox Town: city, town, farm, port, US border regions, and a new US Southwest scene. Each neighborhood is toured by selecting “Location” or “Chemical” links.
Tox Town presents the facts on everyday locations where toxic chemicals and substances might be found with non-technical descriptions of the chemicals. There is information about how the environment can affect human health. We also provide links to chemical and environmental health resources from trusted sources. Like all of our neighborhoods, our new Southwest scene demonstrates the uniqueness and some similarities of the environmental health issues we all face today.
In collaboration with Diné College, a tribal college for the Arizona and New Mexico Navajo Nation, the Southwest has very specific environmental hazards like abandoned mines, uranium tailings, and dust storms. With Tox Town, we at the NLM seek to inform the public about the environmental health concerns in their “own backyard” but also with areas with which they may not be familiar.
The US Southwest scene can be used as an educational tool not only for students and the general public living in the Southwest, but also for those of us living in other parts of the country that are unaware of the unique environmental health concerns for those living in this region. Tox Town can present environmental issues in an easy to understand manner that makes explaining the concept of environmental justice to the general public interesting and engaging. Tox Town also offers some resources in Spanish, and has a text version. We also have resources especially for teachers. Check out this great new resource and let us know what you think of the new Southwest scene and Tox Town in general.
About the authors: Judy Kramer is a Public Health Specialist, and a contractor for ICF International, working with the National Library of Medicine on Specialized Information Services. Judy oversaw the development of the Tox Town US Southwest scene and is a member of the K-12 team that produces educational resources for educators. Andrew Plumer is an Outreach Librarian for the National Library of Medicine, and also works on Specialized Information Services. Andrew is part of the K-12 team that produces educational resources for educators.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
By Ann Carroll
The EPA brownfields program started in the mid-1990s, but as the program evolved over the last decade, we learned that the abandoned gas station, mine site or vacant scrap yard may be only one of the many issues facing communities. In fact, many brownfield communities are also medically underserved areas. This U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) designation means that there aren’t enough doctors, dentists, mental health or other health professionals to provide needed services. This is especially problematic because many of these communities may be affected by legacy pollution that was left behind when plants closed down. Residents in these communities may lack vital services like vaccinations or preventive care that is important to disease management for diabetes, asthma or other chronic conditions and care needs.
Opening of the Providence Community Health Centers
For one community, this reality changed with a new clinic opening on a former brownfield. On July 16, I joined some of the EPA New England brownfields program team members in Providence, RI, along with community members, investors, and elected officials to celebrate the opening of the Providence Community Health Centers (PCHC). PCHC is now the largest Rhode Island healthcare provider for women and children, serving one in four Providence residents. This new clinic integrates care for children and adults with behavioral health, a Women, Infants and Children’s (WIC) nutrition program, and provides services to address asthma, diabetes, podiatry and dermatology, all under one roof.
There will also be a pharmacy opening next door, which will make filling prescriptions easy. The health center is located on the Federated Lithography Site, a former historic mill, which dates back to the 1880s. Brownfield grants totaling $600,000 funded the removal of lead paint and asbestos from around the 4.5 acre site and attracted an additional $40 million for construction and redevelopment. Historic preservation and select demolition also allowed for the creation of a historic hybrid health care clinic that meets LEED ‘green building’ certification. Renovation of the remaining mill buildings will create doctors offices for Lifespan, an integrated health provider linked to Brown University.
The project also created 125 seasonal jobs during the two years of work. Nearly 25% of demolition and construction dollars supported local minority/women business enterprises and labor. In a neighborhood where over 70% of children and 35% of families live below the poverty line, these jobs were especially important!
This seems like a prescription many brownfield communities would like filled. Let’s learn from this Providence community and help Providence and other rural and urban communities reverse environmental pollution legacies to create healing today and a healthier tomorrow. You can read more about this story in this New York Times article. Also, visit this website to see if you live in a medically underserved area, and click here to find out more about programs that HHS offers to medically underserved areas.
About the author: Ann Carroll has a science and public health background and has worked on environmental health issues in the US and internationally for close to 30 years and with the EPA’s Office of Brownfields and Land Revitalization for the last ten years. She helps communities assess and clean brownfields and plan for their safe reuse. Ann is working on a doctorate in environmental health as a Fellow at Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Center for a Livable Future.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
Clean Water is Environmental Justice
By Nancy Stoner
Hanging in my office is a list of EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s priorities for the EPA. It is a focused list that identifies seven key areas which form the core of our mission. Working for environmental justice and protecting America’s waterways are both on this list. In the Office of Water, we understand that these two are not separate goals. Environmental justice shapes our priorities, frames our projects, and informs our actions. It embraces the idea that every community, regardless of its size and economic standing, deserves access to safe water.
Nancy on a tour of green infrastructure to reduce polluted stormwater in urban Baltimore.
At the EPA, we have universal standards for water quality, but many cities and towns in our nation are still grappling with reaching these standards. Our environmental justice efforts acknowledge that people who lack resources must often use whatever water is nearest and available to them. Through a variety of partnership programs, we work with these communities to implement projects that invigorate their economies, restore their waterways, and help them provide clean water to their citizens.
Cities are an extremely important aspect of environmental justice as 80 percent of Americans live in urban areas. Through the EPA-led Urban Waters Federal Partnership, we are providing grants to improve water quality and reconnect urban citizens with their local waterways. Recent Urban Waters projects vary from citizen-run water monitoring networks to parks built on vacant lots using green infrastructure. With these grants, communities are able to tailor their projects to their needs, revitalizing their community while also securing cleaner water.
In rural communities, our environmental justice efforts focus on issues specific to each area. For example, we are working with communities in Appalachia to help clean up rivers and streams affected by mountain top mining. These waterbodies are crucial to residents for drinking, fishing, and swimming. We work with locals to minimize consequences to human health, help the local environment, and strengthen their economy.
When it comes to water, it is difficult to think of a single issue that does not tie into environmental justice. By focusing on how water issues affect people in their communities, we can expand the conversation on environmental justice and redefine our actions to ensure that everyone has access to clean and usable water regardless of where they live.
Click here for more information on the Office of Water’s environmental justice efforts.
About the author: Nancy Stoner currently serves in EPA as the Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Water. Prior to joining EPA, Nancy was Co-Director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Water Program. In that capacity she guided projects to protect rivers, lakes, and coastal waters from contaminated stormwater, sewer overflows, factory farms, and other sources of water pollution, and led NRDC’s efforts to clean up and restore the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. Before joining NRDC, Nancy worked as a trial attorney in the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the US Department of Justice and served as director of the Office of Policy Analysis in the EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance.
Editor's Note: The opinions expressed in Greenversations are those of the author. They do not reflect EPA policy, endorsement, or action, and EPA does not verify the accuracy or science of the contents of the blog.
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