Monday, April 22

Dear Reader,

Good news about environmental issues sometimes flies under the radar, especially when our news is flooded with stories about politics and threats to democracy. That’s why Bluedot makes it our mission to find and tell you stories about incredible people doing incredible work around the world to help save our planet — from a group of concerned citizens in London, England fighting to protect one of the last urban woodlands to activists in Bosnia protecting their river to “pollenteers” in North Carolina creating pollinator habitats on city land. 

But here’s a big piece of good news that you might have missed: The US government has imposed the first-ever limits on levels of PFAS in our drinking water. Great but … what the heck are PFAS? They’re what are often called “forever chemicals.” The Guardian breaks it down: “PFAS (short for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances) are a group of about 15,000 human-made chemical compounds used widely in manufacturing to make products resistant to water, stains or heat — meaning they’re in everything from aerospace engineering components to takeout containers. Also known as “forever chemicals”, PFAS are unable to break down naturally in the environment or in our bodies.”

But a few weeks ago, the Guardian tells us, “the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced legally enforceable drinking water limits for a group of the most dangerous PFAS compounds, after years of issuing only advisories. All US water providers will soon have to test their water and then install treatment systems that can filter PFAS if the results exceed EPA limits.” 

This is very good news, but is it enough? Not really. Most PFAS get into our bodies through what we eat, not what we drink, so let’s keep up the pressure! (Click here to sign a Natural Resources Defence Council (NRDC) petition for the Global Plastics Treaty.) 

Want to know more? The Guardian, as usual, did great reporting around this issue, so read on.

Determinedly,

Dot