CALIFORNIA CONSIDERS BAN OF ALL COSMETICS WITH CANCER CAUSING CHEMICALS: California is considering a bill that would ban the sale of all cosmetics in state that contain certain chemicals known to cause cancer and other health effects.
State legislators introduced a bill Tuesday that would ban makeup made with 20 highly toxic chemicals including asbestos, mercury, lead, formaldehyde and fluorinated compounds known as PFAS.
The cosmetics under the bill would be classified as “adulterated cosmetics,” and would not be able to be sold in the state. Some of the chemicals have been linked to reproductive harm and hormone disruption in addition to cancer.
{mosads}”Californians deserve to know whether the cosmetic products they purchase in the state are not harmful to their health,” said state assembly member Al Muratsuchi (D), a co-sponsor of the bill in a statement.
“While cosmetic products sold in the U.S. are largely unregulated, other nations — and even retailers — have proactively banned or restricted the use of hundreds or thousands of cosmetic ingredients. AB 495 will protect consumers by banning the sale in California of cosmetics containing known carcinogens, reproductive toxins, and endocrine disruptors that are harmful to human health.”
Environmental and consumer advocacy groups have long argued that the U.S .does not do enough to regulate the chemicals used in makeup and personal care products.
“Toxic chemicals that cause cancer or reproductive harm have no place in any consumer products, especially those that adults and children alike apply to their bodies every day,” said Susan Little, senior California advocate for government affairs of the Environmental Working Group.
“This common-sense proposal is exactly what is needed to clean up the cosmetics aisle so that Californians can be assured their makeup, soap and shampoos don’t include harmful chemicals.”
PFAS, one of the chemicals that would be banned under the bill, is currently under the microscope on the federal level as the Environmental Protection Agency is working to propose new limits for the chemical in drinking water.
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OREGON HOUSE APPROVES 10-YEAR FRACKING BAN: The Oregon House on Monday voted by a large margin to approve a 10-year ban on fracking in the state, according to a report by The Oregonian.
The state House voted 42-12 in favor of outlawing the practice, in which pressurized liquid is injected into deep rock formations to allow oil and natural gas to escape. There are no current fracking operations in Oregon, but developers have long eyed the Willamette Valley as a potential site for methane fracking, according to The Oregonian.
The vote would make Oregon the fourth state to ban the practice after New York, Vermont and Maryland. Florida and New Mexico are also considering bans or restrictions.
Ban advocates claim the practice pollutes groundwater and contributes to earthquakes. The bill next heads to the state Senate, which Democrats also control by about the same margin.
“Oregon’s natural beauty should be cherished and protected,” said bill sponsor Rep. Rachel Prusak in a press release. “This legislation is a common sense proposal to ensure that no one engages in this potentially destructive practice while we work to better understand its long-term impacts.”
POLL FINDS ONE-THIRD BLAME CLIMATE CHANGE FOR COLDER WINTER TEMPS: One-third of Americans attributed “unusual” winter weather this season to climate change, according to a Gallup poll released Tuesday.
The survey found that 19 percent of respondents said the 2018-2019 season was colder than usual due to climate change, while 14 percent said climate change made the season warmer than usual.
Twenty-three percent said they thought the season was colder than usual due to normal variations in the weather, while 5 percent said it was warmer than usual for the same reason.
Gallup conducted the survey from March 1-10, before the “bomb cyclone” that struck the central U.S. last week, causing blizzard conditions in Colorado and major flooding in Nebraska and other parts of the Midwest.
Overall, 34 percent of respondents in the eastern United States said this year’s winter season was colder than usual, compared to 62 percent of respondents in the Midwest, 23 percent in the South and 64 percent in the West.
Forty-two percent of respondents in the East said temperatures were “about the same,” compared to 29 percent of respondents in the Midwest, 43 percent in the South and 26 percent in the West.
OUTSIDE THE BELTWAY:
The Colorado House Energy and Environment Committee approved bill that would give local governments more control over the location of oil and gas facilities in the state, The Denver Post reports.
A U.S. jury ruled against Bayer in the second Roundup cancer case, CNBC reports.
lN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
Check out stories from Tuesday…
-California legislators consider banning all cosmetics with cancer-causing chemicals
-Pence travels to Nebraska to survey flood damage
-Drone footage shows devastation from cyclone in Mozambique
-Fish from Ohio river that once caught fire now safe to eat
-Oregon House approves 10-year fracking ban
-One-third blame climate change for colder winter temperatures: Gallup
-Federal government offering $1,000 to anyone adopting a wild horse