Sustainability in Health and Safety

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Nearly two years ago, Jeremiah Mock heard a student in Marin County, California, complain that her school was littered with e-cigarette waste. A health anthropologist by training, Mock did some shoe-leather investigating in a student parking lot, where he found a significant amount of e-cigarette and tobacco trash. Surprised, Mock went further.

Training landscapers in water efficiency, using “edutainers” to teach water conservation tips to children and encouraging consumers to buy WaterSense products are among the strategies states are using to head off – or at least, minimize - water shortages expected in the years ahead. “Forty states anticipate experiencing fresh water shortages in certain regions within their borders over the next decade,” said EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler.

The new-look Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission is beginning to rewrite state rules to emphasize public safety and the environment instead of energy production. The previous law said encouraging production was regulators' top priority. In addition to the new focus on protecting the public and the environment, the law gives local governments some authority over the location of wells and changes the commission makeup to dilute industry influence.