Tag Archive | Great Lakes Green Chemistry Network

Free July webinar on hazards of antibacterial cleaning products

Jul9

Hosted by the Great Lakes Green Chemistry Network Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse
“GreenScreen® Assessments of Antimicrobials Triclosan and Triclocarban,” 3 p.m. TUESDAY, JULY 15, 2014

Presented by Beverly Thorpe, Consulting Co-Director and Co-founder Clean Production Action and Fe De Leon, Great Lakes Toxics Policy Expert and Researcher Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA)

Beverly Thorpe

Triclosan and Triclocarban are widely used as antibacterial/antimicrobial agents in many products including cosmetics, personal care consumer products, textiles and food contact materials. GreenScreen® for Safer Chemicals, a recognized tool for comparative chemical hazard assessment, was used to assess the environmental and human health profile of both of these chemicals.
GreenScreen® classifies Triclosan as a GreenScreen® Benchmark 1 (Avoid – Chemical of High Concern) and Triclocarban as a GreenScreen® Benchmark 2 (Use –  but Search for Safer Substitutes).  These results will add new support for the growing movement to restrict Triclosan as well as demonstrate the value of comprehensive chemical hazard screening for informed substitution to both regulators and businesses.

 

Beverley Thorpe is Consulting Co-Director, and co-founder, of Clean Production Action and she has worked to advance safer chemicals policy for over 25 years. Her current focus is the promotion of Green Chemistry within government policy, company practices and advocacy campaigns and she continues to train, teach and publish materials that advance clean production strategies.  She is a regular guest lecturer on company best practice in chemicals policy at Lund University, Sweden and is a current board member of the Story of Stuff in the U.S. and Greenpeace Canada.

Fe de Leon is a researcher with the Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA) and has worked extensively on toxic substances particularly in the Great Lakes Basin, on the federal chemicals management plan and on international efforts to address persistent toxic substances through the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the Great Lakes Quality Agreement, and a global treaty to address mercury. She has works collaboratively with Canadian and international non-governmental organizations to support the listing of chrysotile asbestos for Prior Informed Consent Procedures under the Rotterdam Convention. She has coordinated the efforts of member organizations of the Canadian Environmental Network Toxics Caucus and made numerous submissions regarding the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, the National Pollutant Release Inventory, and risk assessment and risk management reports for specific toxic substances, including persistent organic pollutants and endocrine disrupting substances.

 

 

Free webinar on how chemical exposure is contributing to obesity

Oct28
Great Lakes Green Chemistry Network   ~   Michigan Green Chemistry Clearinghouse Webinar

Thursday, October 31, 2013

 “Transgenerational Inheritance of Prenatal Obesogen Exposure”
BRUCE BLUMBERG, PHD.

Departments of Developmentaland Cell Biology,Pharmaceutical Sciencesand Biomedical Engineering
University of California, Irvine

3:30 p.m. Eastern Standard

A growing body of science is demonstrating that lifestyle factors are not the only contributors to the obesity problem in the U.S. This webinar will discuss the links between exposure to environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals and the development of obesity. Dr. Blumberg will explain his obesogen hypothesis, which holds that exposure to chemical obesogens can reprogram metabolism to favor the storage of excess fat, despite normal diet and exercise. In addition, his research has recently shown that prenatal exposure to such obesogens can have permanent effects on the exposed individuals, their children and grandchildren.Bruce Blumberg is Professor in the Departments of Developmental and Cell Biology, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering at the University of California, Irvine, CA. His current research focuses on the role of nuclear hormone receptors in development, physiology and disease. Dr. Blumberg was appointed as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012.
Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/320765856

Free webinar, Sustainable Biomaterials: Criteria, Benefits, Challenges and Market-Based Tools”

Sep13

3 p.m. Thursday, September 19, 2013

Brenda Platt, Program Director, Waste to Wealth and Sustainable Plastics,
Co-Director Institute for Local Self Reliance

Plastics derived from fossil fuels are nonrenewable, may leach toxic chemicals, harm marine life, and increase reliance on imported fossil-fuel-based feedstocks.  The developoment of bioplastics and other biobased materials hold great promise to mitigate many of these problems by offering the potential for renewability, biodegradation, and path away from harmful chemicals.They are not, however, an automatic panacea. As the interest in biomaterials grows, concerns regarding sourcing and end-of-life issues surrounding these materials follow, such as food competition, GMOs, and compostibility vs. recyclability.The Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative (SBC) has developed tools to help producers, purchasers, and consumers  navigate the maze of biobased materials  entering the marketplace. Its purchasing specifications, for instance, are designed to promote products that are sustainable from cradle to cradle: from field and manufacturing to recovery.In this webinar presentation, Brenda Platt, co-chair of the Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative, will discuss the SBC’s efforts to promote market-based tools such as purchasing guidelines and Working Landscape Certificates, an innovative program that allows buyers of biobased products to support sustainable agricultural practices.

In addition to co-chairing the Sustainable Biomaterials Collaborative, Brenda Platt is the co-director of the nonprofit Institute for Local Self-Reliance, based in Washington, DC, and heads up its Sustainable Plastics Project.  She has worked 26 years on waste reduction, recycling and composting issues

Space is limited.
Reserve your Webinar seat now at:
https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/182650512