When Even Angels Wept

March 18, 1937 began like any other day for the school children of New London, Texas. Thirteen minutes before the last bell was to dismiss, 293 of those children had fallen victim to the worst school tragedy in American history. Accumulation of leaked natural gas produced one quick and massive explosion heard for miles. Nothing remained from what was once considered the richest rural school in the world. Only the few surviving children and their tears endured. At that moment, the world knew a generation had died. When Even Angels Wept is a documentation using actual words of those who lived to tell their story from that fateful day. Year after year may pass, but their ageless recollections still stand the test of time. See the film trailer: When Even Angels Wept

Website of the New London School Explosion

Hazmat: The Sustainability Link

Hazmat: The Sustainability Link

Part 1: Determine a Hierarchy for Managing Hazardous Materials

Part 2: Why Develop a Green Purchasing Plan?

Part 3: Five Ways To Reduce Waste in Commercial Buildings

Part 4: Compliance Considerations for Managing Hazardous Materials

Chemical Security is Community Security

The wealth of our community is the health of our children.

The November 22, 2006 Danvers, Massachusetts chemical plant explosion should motivate policy makers and citizens to assess community vulnerabilities statewide and take steps to reduce chemical hazards, especially in residential areas and schools. The activity would be an opportunity for communities to create a new appreciation for the positive role of government as the protector of public health, safety and the public's right to know and control what the chemical industry puts in our air, water, food, and bodies.

This disaster is also an opportunity for officials to educate the public about hazards to health and safety. If we have learned anything from the aftermath of 9/11, there is an urgent need to stop the false assurances that hazardous solvent vapors and fumes from burning buildings and toxic runoff are "safe."

Recommended Resources

"The Safe Hometowns Guide," How to do a Community Reassessment of Chemical Site Safety and Security after September 11, 2001.

PTA in Action Newsletter: What is your school's chemical IQ? The healthy school check up for national preparedness month. There is an urgent need for responsible leadership to improve school safety and security by eliminating the improper storage and use of hazardous chemicals in our schools.

Why do we need involved citizens?

Dry cleaning chemical detected in school Families of students attending Mildred Avenue Middle School in Mattapan were notified Friday that state officials found traces of tetrachloroethylene, a liquid used for dry cleaning, following an air quality test, according to a copy of a letter sent by the principal, Kris Taylor. Health officials determined that the levels found by officials from the state Department of Environmental Protection would not pose a health threat, the letter said. Authorities believed the trace levels were remnants from a dry cleaning plant once located on the site, the letter said. Recent changes made to state regulations concerning airborne substances in schools triggered the testing and subsequent findings.

WOBURN MA Railway firm found guilty in diesel oil spill

A jury in Massachusetts has convicted a New Hampshire railway company and three of its subsidiaries of failing to report a hazardous waste spill at a rail yard in Ayer. Pan Am Railways Inc. of Nashua was charged with violating state law. Prosecutors said a locomotive spilled hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel at the rail yard in August 2006. Pan Am Railways and its subsidiaries were accused of failing to report the leak to state officials and of attempting to cover it up. A Superior Court jury returned the verdict yesterday after a weeklong trial. Failure to report a spill is punishable by a $100,000 fine. (AP)

What Dog Walkers Should Know About Golf Courses

A neighborhood dog walker writes: "June 10, about 7am, one of the golf course employees drove by in a tractor which was pulling a spreader. He stopped the rig and told me that he was spreading fertilizer and Merit insecticide. According to him, dogs pads can absorb this, it lasts quite a while in the soil, but gets incorporated into the soil after the first inch of rain...."

From Ellie Goldberg, 617 965-9637

Below are some resources for you to read about Golf Courses and the insecticide Merit. Feel free to forward it to friends, neighbors and other dog lovers.

I believe golf courses should be required to give this information to anyone who uses golf courses, who live near golf courses, has access to golf courses (kids, dogs, etc.) , etc. (Especially in areas with elevated cancer rates such as Newton.)

(I also think there should have been a broad public notice when the Newton Parks Department used Trimec Plus on city fields.)

I recommend going to the GreenCAP webpages for the Pesticide Primer for basic concepts before reading the fact sheets. http://www.greendecade.org/greenCap_primer.html

You might also enjoy this videopodcasts: The Truth about Cats, Dogs & Lawn Chemicals http://catsdogslawnsvlog.blogspot.com/

1) GreenCAP, The Green Decade Coalition/Newton's Committee for Alternatives to Pesticides

2) JOURNAL OF PESTICIDE REFORM/ SPRING 2001 • VOL. 21, NO. 1 15 l I N S E C T I C I D E F A C T S H E E T Imidacloprid http://www.pesticide.org/imidacloprid.pdf

3) From Beyond Pesticides Gateway: http://www.beyondpesticides.org/gateway/index.htm

Imidacloprid Chloro-nicotinyl insecticide
(see product names)

Agriculture
Toxic
See chart
Extoxnet, PAN-UK, NCAP, NPIC, PAN

4) Toxic Fairways: Risking Groundwater Contamination From Pesticides ...The Attorney General's survey of pesticides used on Long Island golf courses .... (3) The actual rate of golf course pesticide use may be much higher than ...

5) Golf and the Environment Beyond Pesticides' work on golf and the environment continues to be an important strategy for outreach to the land area with one of the most highly concentrated per acre use of pesticides. The extensive use of pesticides on golf courses raises serious questions about people's toxic exposure, drift over neighboring communities, water contamination, and effects on wildlife and sensitive ecosystems.

Beyond Pesticides serves on a steering committee that seeks to develop a collaborative strategy with the golf course industry in an effort to effect change. This group developed the Environmental Principles for Golf and the Environment. Increasingly, players and golf course managers are asking the right questions and looking for answers that result in meaningful reductions in pesticide use.

In what it calls the most important article it has ever published, Golf Digest in its May 2008 issue (pp 196-232) published an article, "How Green is Golf?," which asks the hard questions about the environmental impact of golf in a series of in-depth interviews, including a builder, golf course superintendent, regulator, environmentalist and activist - Beyond Pesticides executive director, Jay Feldman (read Jay's interview).

The article spans a range of opinions on water usage, pesticide contamination, and management practices, with general agreement that golfer expectations and management practices must move and are moving in an environmental direction, citing important ways in which attitudes and understanding must change.

Read about this article on Beyond Pesticides Daily News Blog, "Experts Discuss the Greening of Golf Courses," April 17, 2008.