Top 10 positive environmental stories of 2010

Recently, I wrote about the top 10 stories for consumers in 2010.

Since what happens in the environment also is important to consumers, I’m posting about this list of the top 10 good news stories for the environment in 2010 by The Environmental Working Group, an advocacy organization.

 1. Gas drilling using hydraulic fracking is beginning to be seriously examined by Congress and regulators.

2. Californians stand up for their climate change law by voting to retain it despite millions spent by oil companies to defeat the law in a referendum.

3. Consumers in San Francisco know how much radiation cell phones release, due to a new law passed by the city.

4. Perchlorate, a toxic chemical known to disrupt thyroid hormones that are essential to brain development, will finally be regulated by the Environmental Protection Agency.

5. The passage of a federal food safety law will bring safer, healthier food for everyone.

6. States and cities dump Bisphenol A, even though Congress declined to vote on banning the endocrine-disrupting plastics chemical in baby bottles and sippy cups.

7. Small steps toward better controls on toxic chemicals have been taken, with bills introduced in the House and Senate to update and strengthen the Toxic Substances Control Act.

8. Presidential advisors take a fresh look at cancer causes, with a report that concludes the "true burden of environmentally induced cancer has been grossly underestimated."

9. Plastic bags are being outlawed from coast to coast, as more cities vote to ban them.

10. Some brands are disclosing what’s in their cleaning products, including S.C. Johnson, the maker of Windex, Nature's Source, and Shout.

See the Environmental Working Group’s article for more information on these accomplishments.

My next post will be on the group’s list of the worst environmental stories of 2010.