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Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is recipient of 2020 Stand Up Initiative

Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation is recipient of 2020 Stand Up Initiative

The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation (BRPF) is one of two recipients of the 2020 Stand Up Initiative, a program launched by Darby Communications in 2016 that provides pro bono PR and marketing services to select environmental nonprofits. 

Darby Communications and Status Forward, a partner in the Stand Up Initiative, will team up with the BRPF on their Trails & Views Forever Fund campaign. Recently the nonprofit was awarded an ‘all or nothing’ $300,000 challenge grant. In a press release, the two agencies said they will lend a mix of media outreach, social media, email marketing and collateral support to help the BRPF reach the matching amount by their June 30, 2020 deadline. 

Contamination of US drinking water with “forever chemicals” is worse than anyone thought

The contamination of drinking water in the United States with manmade “forever chemicals” is worse than scientists feared, the Guardian reports. A report released by an environmental watchdog group found that some of the highest levels of these chemicals in drinking water were in major metropolitan areas like Miami, Philadelphia and New Orleans. The chemicals, called PFAS, are resistant to breaking down, hence the nickname “forever chemicals.”

PFAS were used in products like Teflon and Scotchguard. The Guardian reports that of tap water samples taken by the Environmental Working Group from 44 sites in 31 states and Washington DC, only Meridian, Mississippi, which relies on deep wells, had no detectable PFAS. Only two cities, Seattle and Tuscaloosa, Alabama, had levels below the recommended limit of 1 part per trillion. 

Read the story here: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jan/22/us-drinking-water-contamination-forever-chemicals-pfas 

China has a plan for phasing out single-use plastics

China has a huge plastics problem, but the country has a plan to turn that around. The national development and reform commission and the Ministry of Ecology and Environment issued a policy banning many single use plastics as early as the end of 2020. Under the policy, plastic bags would be banned in major cities by the end of the year and in all other cities and towns in 2022. Fresh produce markets will need to phase out plastic bags by 2025.

The policy also requires the restaurant industry to phase out single-use straws by the end of the year and, by 2025, reduce single-use plastic items by 30%. Additionally, the country has banned the import of all plastic waste, and the use of medical plastic waste in the production of plastic. 

Read the story here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jan/19/china-moves-to-phase-out-single-use-plastics 


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