Informed Green Solutions

04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day 2026! 🌍

01/06/2026

Check out this newly released book by our Program Manager Susan Kaplan.

Washington, DC (November 18, 2025) States have tremendous power to protect their residents’ health. In the absence of adequate federal safeguards against pollution and toxic chemicals, state policies are the strongest tools available to create safe, sustainable environments. The good news is, around the country, both red states and blue states are taking up the charge.

In A Healthy Union: How States Can Lead on Environmental Health (Publication Date: November 18, 2025), Susan Kaplan, JD, highlights examples of groundbreaking state environmental health policies, exploring what has worked, what needs improvement, and
how other areas of the country can build on these advances. She shows how public health advocates can push for new protections and create safer environments for the next generation.

In California, state agencies are partnering with disadvantaged communities to measure air quality, reduce pollution, and advance environmental justice. In Texas, a state law requires
every school to cut down on the use of dangerous pesticides, helping to keep kids safe. In New York, a network of clinics trains medical professionals in occupational health and children’s environmental health, ensuring that patients receive excellent care and specialists are ready to advocate for protective policies.

The success of these programs is not haphazard; instead, effective approaches share key elements, including state-university-industry partnerships, collaboration across government
agencies, and strong environmental health education. Ultimately, Kaplan argues that the US needs a coordinated federal and state response to environmental health threats. Until then,
innovative policy solutions can go a long way to improve the nation’s wellbeing, one state at a time.

As states work to protect against environmental toxics and pollutants, A Healthy Union delivers a critical guide for implementing innovative environmental health policies.

Susan Kaplan, JD is Research Assistant Professor of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Illinois Chicago. She previously developed regulations at the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in Washington, D.C., managed a state program to clean up and redevelop contaminated sites, and was assistant director of an energy policy group at Harvard University’s Kennedy School. Her writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Boston Globe, Christian Science Monitor, Ensia, and other outlets. She lives mainly in Vermont.

To purchase the book go to: https://islandpress.org/books/healthy-union

12/21/2025

FYI:

Friends of the Earth found a cocktail of toxic pesticides in two non-organic baby food products made by Target’s house brand, Good & Gather.

10/02/2025

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Children's Health Month! All children deserve to lead happy, healthy lives, and ensuring access to clean, healthy environments is one way we can achieve that. Stay tuned to hear more about children's health as we gear up for Children's Environmental Health Day on October 9th!

09/10/2025

FYI Ask for a digital receipt instead because it's cleaner and greener.

06/11/2025

It's here. The 2025 EWG's Dirty Dozen list. Your shopper's guide to produce you should buy organic because it's high in pesticides and other chemicals.

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php

04/22/2025

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03/11/2025

FYI: High levels of BPA found in canned coconut water. Please sign.

Center for Environmental Health test results detected BPA in 11 different brands of coconut water. Exposure to BPA has been linked to everything from reproductive dysfunction to diabetes; from heart disease to erectile dysfunction; from cancer to brain and behavior disorders. We know we can get BPA....

12/29/2024

FYI:

(NaturalHealht365) Hand sanitizers contain a transport agent that helps BPA (a nasty chemical found in plastics) get into your body.

10/03/2024

⚠️ Warning.

Researchers found flame retardants, linked to carcinogenicity, endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, and reproductive harm, in toys, take-out containers and kitchen utensils made from black-colored plastic.