Recent Blog Posts

Eurosurveillance, 30 March 2017 Since first identified in 2013, the H7N9 virus has caused several waves of human infections in China, with a current wave including a number of patients with very severe disease.  Jiangsu is one of the most impacted provinces, whereby as of 31 January 2017, the number of human infections (n = 109) in the ongoing fifth…

Republished from the WSJ, March 2017 Mr. Robbins’s Blue Harbour Group LP told investors it will urge companies to focus more attention on environmental and social issues such as climate change, diversity and employee well-being. The move builds on the traditional activist strategy of agitating to improve a company’s financial metrics and operations to increase value for shareholders. Mr. Robbins,…

The Atlantic, 17 March 2017 While the details of President Donald Trump’s proposed 2018 budget remain scant, one thing is clear: The Department of Labor will likely be one of the biggest losers. Trump’s budget proposal would cut the department’s funding by $2.5 billion, or 21 percent, which will mean drastic changes for the work the department does. The dramatic scale-back is meant…

The Hill, 12 March 2017 The head of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is fueling speculation that he could try to repeal the lynchpin of the federal government’s climate change regulations.  In an interview Thursday with CNBC, Scott Pruitt cast doubt on his own agency’s 2009 conclusion that greenhouse gases ‘endanger both the public health and the public welfare of current and…

Cal-OSHA Reporter, 10 March 2017 The United States House of Representatives has voted to repeal – to rein in – a new Fed-OSHA rule on injury and illness recordkeeping. It is a certainty that Senate will follow suit and that President Donald Trump will sign it.  But what does this mean for Cal/OSHA and, more importantly, California employers? Congress is…

  ECHA Stakeholders’ Day Conference (live web-stream available), Helsinki, Finland, April 4-5, 2017 Chemical Watch Expo 2017, Berlin, Germany, April 25-26, 2017 Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Annual Meeting, Brussels, Belgium, May 7-11, 2017 American Industrial Hygiene Conference and Exhibition, Seattle, WA, June 4-7, 2017 Work, Stress and Health 2017, Minneapolis, MN, June 7-10, 2017 Safety 2017: ASSE Professional…

  A Cal/OSHA proposal to tweak the Title 8 requirements for employer emergency action plans received favorable comments at its February public hearing. As representatives of employer groups are feeling positive about the proposal, it is on its way to board adoption which could possibly happen this month. The proposal would revise General Industry Safety Orders on evacuation procedures to…

  Trump Unveils New Pick to Head Labor Department– “President Trump on Thursday announced he was nominating Alexander Acosta to be his Labor secretary, less than 24 hours after his first nominee for the position withdrew amid criticism from Republican senators.  ‘He has had a tremendous career,’ Trump said of Acosta in a press conference at the White House, listing…

Daily Journal, 25 January 2017 On Jan. 13, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari in a case involving the controversial Clean Water rule (often referred to as the ‘Waters of the United States’ or ‘WOTUS’ rule) issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Just one week later—on the day the new president was…

  Summarized from the State of Green Business Report 2017, GreenBiz Group Inc., January 2017 Look for an increasing trend of “blockchain” emerging technologies supporting sustainability.  A sort of digital ledger, a blockchain is a decentralized database that records transactions of almost any type and automatically enforces contracts related to them, based on conditions defined by the participants.  It is…