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Amy Westervelt on Muck Rack

Amy Westervelt

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San Antonio
As seen in: Critical Frequency, Drilled, Apple Podcasts, LinkedIn, Elemental, Medium, MSN, MSN UK, The New York Times, The Startup, Forbes, HuffPost and
Covers:  travel, wellness, environmental health, environment, spas, agriculture
Doesn't Cover: education, business strategy
Investigative reporter. Run @WeAreDrilled and @CriticalFreqPod. Steering committee @CoveringClimate. Investigations, pods, newsletter: drilled.media
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How Our Buildings Are Making Us Sick - Forbes

How Our Buildings Are Making Us Sick - Forbes

Forbes — As a culture, Americans spend 90 percent of our time indoors, and in the majority of cases the air quality inside is far worse than it is outside. The largely terrible indoor air quality is attributed to the offgassing of chemicals from various building materials-paint, carpet, countertops, dry wall, you name it and chances are it's got some sort of toxic ingredient. The thing is, in many cases those chemicals are mandated by either building codes or performance codes. Curtains need to be covered in flame retardant to prevent fire spread, for example, and certain other materials have chemicals added to them in order to make them more flexible, more rigid, or more rugged.
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As Report Reveals Toxic Ingredients in Baby Shampoo, Johnson & Johnson Goes Public with Plans...

As Report Reveals Toxic Ingredients in Baby Shampoo, Johnson & Johnson Goes Public with Plans...

Forbes — See below for a recent update.** Less than a month after Johnson & Johnson ranked as the most trusted brand in America in Forbes' survey comes a report that could give consumers pause, calling the company out for removing chemicals of concern in its iconic baby shampoo in some countries, but not others. The product currently on shelves in the United States, Canada, and China still contains known carcinogens. In recent years, J&J baby shampoo has become the poster child for the need for chemical reform in the United States; nothing says we need tighter chemical regulation than toxic baby shampoo.
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How airlines are fighting carbon trading | GreenBiz.com

How airlines are fighting carbon trading | GreenBiz.com

www.greenbiz.com — After losing a court case in 2011, U.S. airlines are working on another way around joining the European Union's carbon trading scheme: domestic legislation that would prohibit them from participating. The Thune bill will come up for a vote in the Senate later this year (likely in September), and a similar measure has already passed the House. Despite protests from environmental groups, the legislation has broad bi-partisan support. It would legally prohibit U.S. airlines from participating in the EU's emissions trading system (ETS), thereby weakening the EU's push to regulate aviation-related carbon emissions, and potentially dragging the issue back into court should U.S.
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Coke, Ford join forces to juice supply of plant-based plastic | GreenBiz.com

Coke, Ford join forces to juice supply of plant-based plastic | GreenBiz.com

www.greenbiz.com — Three words explain why the 100 percent bioplastic bottle isn't ubiquitous yet: Supply, supply, supply. Coca-Cola, Pepsi and several other Fortune 500 companies are working to address that. The beverage makers earlier this month announced they're teaming up with Nike, Ford, Procter & Gamble and Heinz to accelerate the development of 100-percent plant-based PET via a new initiative called the PET Plant Technology Collaborative. "There's limited supply and we're all competing for it," said Michael Washburn, director of sustainability for Nestle Waters North America. "Not just in the beverage industry, but also the carpet industry, technology companies like HP, food companies, and so on, and because of that we have to pay a premium for rPET.
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Study Highlights Hidden Dangers In Everyday Products -- Even The "Green" Ones - Forbes

Study Highlights Hidden Dangers In Everyday Products -- Even The "Green" Ones - Forbes

Forbes — Environmental A first-of-its-kind, peer-reviewed study published in Health Perspectives today reveals an alarming number of unlabeled chemicals of concern in commonly used household and personal care products. The study was funded by Silent Spring Institute, which had 213 consumer products (in 50 categories) independently tested by Battelle Labs in Ohio for 66 specific chemicals associated with either endocrine disruption or asthma. The study included both conventional products, such as Windex original glass cleaner and Irish Spring deodorant soap, as well as "alternative" products marketed as containing safer ingredients than their conventional counterparts, such as Seventh Generation Free and Clear natural glass and surface cleaner and Tom's of Maine natural moisturizing body bar.
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The Military's Green Tech Strategy - Forbes

The Military's Green Tech Strategy - Forbes

Forbes — Last week this seriesstarted off with a look at why the military wants to reduce its dependence on fossil fuels and some of the ways in which it plans to do that. Today we'll take a closer look at some of the specific technologies and products the military is pursuing and the various plans in place for making it all work. Again, the military's interest in clean technology and renewable energy, while certainly supported by federal policy, seems to be more about resource efficiency than any particular political agenda.
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Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's plant-based bottles still damage the environment.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's plant-based bottles still damage the environment.

Slate — First came the press releases: In March, PepsiCo touted the " World's First 100 Percent Plant-Based, Renewably Sourced PET Bottle," prompting CocaCola to stammer, " Odwalla First to Market with up to 100 Percent PlantBottle™ Packaging." The subsequent headlines bumped the hype up a notch: " Pepsi bottles: no more plastic" (Christian Science Monitor), " Pepsi Ups Ante on Plant-Based Bottles with 100% Non-Plastic Bottle" (GreenBiz)," Guardian).
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Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's plant-based bottles still damage the environment.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's plant-based bottles still damage the environment.

Slate — First came the press releases: In March, PepsiCo touted the " World's First 100 Percent Plant-Based, Renewably Sourced PET Bottle," prompting CocaCola to stammer, " Odwalla First to Market with up to 100 Percent PlantBottle™ Packaging." The subsequent headlines bumped the hype up a notch: " Pepsi bottles: no more plastic" (Christian Science Monitor), " Pepsi Ups Ante on Plant-Based Bottles with 100% Non-Plastic Bottle" (GreenBiz)," Guardian).
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Shale Goes Global

Shale Goes Global

Slate — In the blink of an eye, the United States has rocked the once-sleepy natural gas market. Since the 1950s, American energy companies have drilled into massive formations of shale rock to get at the natural gas trapped beneath them, but historically these shale gas ventures required large cash investments to access a relatively unpopular fuel. In the last few years, however, shale gas has suddenly become much more profitable, thanks to three factors: The discovery of large reserves of this low-emissions fuel, tweaks to a process called hydraulic fracturing ("fracking" for short), and improvements in drilling that allow one well to access a reserve in multiple directions.
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Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's plant-based bottles still damage the environment.

Coca-Cola and PepsiCo's plant-based bottles still damage the environment.

Slate — First came the press releases: In March, PepsiCo touted the " World's First 100 Percent Plant-Based, Renewably Sourced PET Bottle," prompting CocaCola to stammer, " Odwalla First to Market with up to 100 Percent PlantBottle™ Packaging." The subsequent headlines bumped the hype up a notch: " Pepsi bottles: no more plastic" (Christian Science Monitor), " Pepsi Ups Ante on Plant-Based Bottles with 100% Non-Plastic Bottle" (GreenBiz)," Guardian).
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Waste Not, Want Not: Extended Producer Responsibility Would Require Manufacturers to Collect and ...

Waste Not, Want Not: Extended Producer Responsibility Would Require Manufacturers to Collect and ...

GOOD — Recycling has been around in the United States since the 1970s. It's such an old and integral part of the environmental movement that activists today think of it as fusty and boring. Surely there are more exciting, innovative solutions to today's problems! It's that sort of thinking that has caused recycling to stay trapped in a 1970s system that is expensive and inefficient. Recycling rates have increased steadily over time, but not as quickly as consumption has, and so the recycling rates today for even the most recyclable goods are well below 50%.
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Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: The Surprising Link Between Light Pollution and Cancer - Environment...

Don't Be Afraid of the Dark: The Surprising Link Between Light Pollution and Cancer - Environment...

GOOD — There are plenty of arguments against lighting the night sky: It wastes energy, blots out stars and messes with the nocturnal habits of animals in a big way. Now there's another reason, one that could go a long way toward convincing humans that whatever sense of safety is conferred by nighttime lighting, it isn't worth the risk. It turns out that light pollution may be a cancer risk. That statement is bold, but increasingly the science is proving it out. Humans, as well as many animals and plants, need regular exposure to darkness to maintain what's called the circadian rhythm-essentially the body's internal clock, which governs various bodily functions.
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