Mar 4, 2014

Sustainable Biofuel to Combat Climate Change

Algae, Biofuel, climate change, epa, old dominion university, Region 3, Shawn Garvin, Virginia 1 Comment

I’m a supporter of on-the-ground work in academia and how student research programs across the United States are helping to solve our country’s environmental problems, often with assistance from the federal government.

That’s why I was delighted to visit with Dr. Sandeep Kumar and his team of graduate and undergraduate students at Old Dominion University Research Foundation in Norfolk, Virginia. My visit was timely – EPA had just awarded the team a P3 grant for $15,000.

EPA Regional Administrator Shawn M. Garvin with Dr. Sandeep Kumar’s research team at Old Dominion University laboratory.

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Jan 27, 2014

Radon Awareness Success in Region 3

Air, Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, radon, radon action month, Region 3, Shawn Garvin, Virginia 2 Comments

January, as National Radon Action Month, is a time to ramp up on radon awareness and celebrate the successes of the state indoor radon programs throughout the mid-Atlantic region.

Our mid-Atlantic partners have reached out to more than 2 million residents with information on what they can do to protect themselves from the dangers of radon.

Radon is a naturally occurring colorless, odorless radioactive gas, and is the leading cause of lung cancer among non-smokers, but testing for radon and reducing elevated levels when they are found can make your home healthier and safer.

Recognizing this, EPA and its state partners are highlighting radon testing and mitigation as a simple and affordable step to significantly reduce the risk for lung cancer.

For 2014, EPA awarded a total of $923,160 in State Indoor Radon Grants to the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, West Virginia Department of Health and Human Services, Virginia Department of Health, and the District of Columbia Department of the Environment. These grants will fund the states’ radon programs to address radon risk assessment, risk reduction and radon resistant new construction in homes and schools.

Dec 18, 2013

Celebrating EPA’s Wheeling, WV Office, 50 years of Pioneering Environmental Protection

epa, Region 3, Shawn Garvin, West Virginia, Wheeling 1 Comment

In the midst of a season of many celebrations, I’m reminded of the rich environmental history we have in EPA’s Region III as we get ready to celebrate another important occasion: The 50^th anniversary of our Wheeling, W. Va. Field Office. As a pioneer of many environmental controls and methods, the Wheeling Field Office is one of the places where environmental protection began in this country.

Before EPA was established in 1970, environmental protection was taking hold in various pockets across the nation, including in the Ohio River area. During the late 1950s, the U. S. Public Health Service (U.S. PHS) collected extensive data on declining fish populations in the Ohio River and its tributaries, and concluded that there was a serious human health threat from rivers full of untreated sewage and castoff industrial chemicals.
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Sep 9, 2013

Planting Seeds

E-STEM, epa, Gina McCarthy, Lisa Jackson, Living Classrooms, Rachel Carson, Region 3, Shawn Garvin, Washington DC 0 Comments

Summer is the time for youth camps, whether they’re sports, arts, or a little bit of everything. Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure to visit a very unique summer camp in the District of Columbia – “E-STEM,” the Environmental – Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Leadership Camp run by Living Classrooms National Capital Region and partially sponsored by EPA. The young girls participating had already been recognized by their teachers and communities for their academic performance, along with leadership potential. I saw some of these attributes as they shared their experiences, such as the vegetables and flowers they grew in wooden pallets that had been painted and converted into mini “urban” gardens.

The camp’s green science activities seemed to have sprouted something even more – a greater interest by the middle school girls in environmental issues and maybe even in technical careers down the road.