LifeSmarts announces partnership with UL’s Safety Smart Ambassador program

By Lisa Hertzberg, LifeSmarts Program Director

LifeSmarts is offering an exciting new opportunity for its participants: Safety Smart! Our latest expansion effort and partnership, with Underwriters Laboratories, (UL), is offering teens a chance to focus on health and safety curriculum while giving back through community service.

By combining efforts on a joint educational project, LifeSmarts and UL are teaming up to offer LifeSmarts participants a win-win opportunity – students gain new resources to learn about relevant topics and prepare for competition, and demonstrate their leadership skills by providing Safety Smart presentations to young children in their communities.

Safety Smart is a program from UL that operates under the philosophy that unintentional injuries are avoidable and preventable when people make smart choices. When Safety Smart Ambassadors share Safety Smart concepts with children, they help raise awareness and inspire action. Safety Smart Ambassadors help cultivate a younger generation of children to be Safety Advocates…Safety Scientists…Safety Smart.

Thanks to this new partnership, LifeSmarts participants will gain from UL’s vast research in safety science, which has been used to develop new competition questions, a 50-question TeamSmarts competition, a LifeSmarts U lesson, and team challenges for 2013 live competitions.

In addition, we are encouraging LifeSmarts participants to become Safety Smart Ambassadors. Three lessons have been created for LifeSmarts student leaders to teach young children about the benefits of ‘going green’ and being ‘healthy and fit.’ We’re providing the tools; now it’s up to our student participants to get out there in their communities to make a difference!

The LifeSmarts Safety Smart Ambassador program is:

• Quick and easy – each lesson is designed as a 30 minute presentation
• Fun – Timon and Pumbaa from Disney’s The Lion King introduce the topics in DVDs available free to Student Ambassadors
• Educational – young children will gain knowledge about important environmental and health and safety topics, and high school students will learn along with them
• Satisfying – LifeSmarts participants will have the opportunity to provide a quality, interactive lesson to younger children, serving as mentors and demonstrating leadership in their community
• A great fit – Many students are required to do community service, participate in service learning, or complete a senior project – the Safety Smart Ambassador program helps meet all of these requirements
• Turnkey – everything you need to get started is in one place:www.lifesmarts.org/SAFETYSMART
• Rewarding –Students who participate in the LifeSmarts Safety Ambassador program may be eligible to win prizes and scholarships. See: www.lifesmarts.org/SAFETYSMART/PRIZES to learn more.

LifeSmarts is pleased to partner with UL, and working with our dedicated and inspiring student leaders, we are excited about the positive impact this program will have across the country. We can’t wait to see what our LifeSmarts Safety Smart Ambassadors will do! Join us today! www.lifesmarts.org/SAFETYSMART

Should more be done to police fuel mileage reporting?

By Alex Lipow

Alex Lipow, a public policy, telecommunications and fraud intern at NCL this winter, is taking a gap year after high school before starting college at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia in the fall.  In high school, Alex was actively involved in debate, Model United Nations, and student government. Alex has experience working as an intern in Congressman Steve Cohen’s office and as a fellow on President Obama’s re-election campaign.

A recent article written by Dave Hurst in Forbes discusses the discovery that some major auto manufactures intentionally over-reported the fuel economy of their cars.  This in turn raised the reported average fuel economy of their entire fleets. According to Hurst, the EPA mandates that certain procedures be used to test the fuel economy of cars but relies a great deal on manufactures to conduct the tests themselves. The results of these tests are then used in advertising and are displayed on window stickers for consumer reference.  The goal of this process is to give consumers the ability to compare cars sold by different companies based upon their stated mileage.

The EPA first audited Hyundai and Kia after receiving complaints about the accuracy of their reported fuel economy figures. The audits show that Hyundai and Kia exaggerated mileage data showing that some of their vehicles had reached 40 miles per gallon (mpg). In some cases, the fuel economy was exaggerated by as many as six miles per gallon. This practice appears to be widespread. A class-action lawsuit is pending against Ford for misrepresenting mileage numbers in its C-Max and Fusion hybrids and Honda was recently in court over mileage claims of its Civic hybrid.

When I first read Hurst’s article, I could not help but ask who is protecting consumers and holding corporations accountable for malfeasance like this? Reliable information is crucial to the buying process, whether it be homes, toasters or cars. When comparing vehicles, fuel economy is often one of the most important features consumers consider. If it is listed inaccurately, as in the instances described above, would so many people have bought these cars?

How has this misreporting become so widespread? One reason may be the relatively few resources the EPA dedicates to mileage testing. A 2009 Car and Driver article found, for example, that just 18 EPA employees are responsible for mileage testing. With such a small staff, the EPA is only able to test 200 to 250 vehicles per year, roughly 15 percent of the total number of new car models introduced in a given year. It may be time for the EPA to consider more closely monitoring mileage testing or levying sizable fines against companies that misreport mileage. At the very least the EPA should devote more resources to its own testing program so that it can protect consumers from this type of deceptive practice. Had regulators been able to supervise the testing and reporting of this information, consumers may have been able to make a better decision about the product they would have preferred to buy.

Average MPGs on the rise

By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

A recent USA Today article brought great news: by 2016, fuel efficiency of our gas-operated vehicles will be required to meet strict new standards. The average by 2025 will be 54.5 mpg! That’s nearly double today’s average of 29.7 mpg and will mean less air pollution and less consumption of oil. In the 1980s and 90s while working for Consumers Union, we joined the environmental groups in lobbying vigorously for stronger “CAFÉ” standards (Corporate Average Fuel Economy.)  The industry – and the United Auto Workers – argued they couldn’t improve fuel efficiency significantly and fought our efforts. We always believed that American engineering smarts and knowhow could meet the design challenges of making a far more fuel-efficient vehicle.

With the advent of hybrid technology, and with battery design and power improving each year, automakers now have the confidence they can meet this CAFÉ goal of 54.5 by 2025. USA Today even quotes UAW president Bob King, who said “these new standards will help propel the auto industry forward by giving American families long term relief from volatile oil process, Lower the total cost of driving will make automobiles more affordable and expand the market for new vehicles.” This is great for the economy, for the auto industry and for consumer’s pocketbook and a long time coming.

Political conventions feature impressive speakers, lack some important discussion

By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

This past week I attended the Democratic Convention in Charlotte. President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden were nominated once again on the Democratic ticket. Charlotte laid out the red carpet for delegates and attendees at the convention. I especially enjoyed meeting seven of America’s Olympic championship girls, including gymnast Gabby Douglas and Soccer player Abby Wambach, who were signing autographs at a special event for kids in downtown Charlotte.

I should note that I also had the opportunity to attend the Republican Convention this month, which I blogged about earlier. So now that I have had the privilege of attending both of the national parties’ conventions, I thought I’d discuss some of my impressions.

First, the focus of both campaigns is decidedly on middle-class voters. It’s all about how tax cuts will affect the middle class, jobs for the middle class, whether the middle class is better off today than it was 4 years ago when President Obama was elected. What I missed was any mention of how people who make minimum wage and are the working poor are doing. They number, according to the National Employment Law Project (NELP), an astounding 47 million. And middle-class jobs are disappearing at an alarming rate, so how do our leaders think we can lift people who are forced to live on low wages out of poverty – because minimum wage workers usually live below the poverty line. As NELP notes, these low wages are “driven in part by the steep erosion of wage standards throughout our economy.”

VP Joe Biden talked about the importance of good, middle-class jobs, but that’s as close as anyone got to the issue.

My Labor Day post addressed the condition of those 47 million low-wage workers. These are the people who are behind counters at airports, train stations, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores. What’s the plan to get American companies to give these folks a path to a better life, and why is no one talking about those millions of workers?

This disappearing middle class is a national crisis, but our politicians don’t talk about it.

I also heard precious little at either convention about global warming and the environmental crisis we face. Senator John Kerry, who ran for President in 2004 on a platform robust with concerns about—and solutions to address—global warming, mentioned the crisis exactly once in his speech at the Democratic Convention. And yet, the Wall Street Journal reported this week (“Record Ice That in Arctic and Greenland”): “The Northern Hemisphere’s largest expanses of ice have thawed faster and more extensively this year than scientists have previously recorded. And the summer isn’t over.” The consequences for climate across the world are enormous; changes in the ice of the far North can raise sea levels and affect weather throughout the hemisphere by altering wind currents, heat distribution and precipitation. But to listen to politicians over the last two weeks, you’d never know we are facing an environmental crisis.

On a more positive note, the conventions gave us a chance to see some amazing people in action. I was struck by the number of articulate and compelling women who spoke at the Conventions.

Ann Romney was smart and thoughtful and an accomplished speaker. I had never before seen her in action, and I was very impressed with her poise. Though I didn’t much care for what South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley had to say about Voter ID laws (she supports them), she is an equally effective and attractive speaker.

The Democratic Convention featured a riveting talk by First Lady Michelle Obama, who caused a few commentators to say the next day, “SHE should be running for President.” Jill Biden talked warmly about her VP husband’s lifelong devotion to making life better for the middle class, and Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm provided a theatrical performance that won’t soon be forgotten as she described the jobs that were preserved as a result of auto industry loans. All these women—Republican and Democrat—should be a great source of pride for both parties. They are in some ways the best news the parties have to offer and both Republicans and Democrats are smart to give them center stage.

In addition to my list above, there are a number of other issues of national significance neither party chooses to address; consumer protection issues were largely overlooked, as was sensible gun regulation. As we count down the next two months until the election, I hope we can count on voters to ask the politicians some of the tough questions that got short shrift during the Conventions.

It’s National Parks Week!

If you are fortunate enough to live close to a national park, consider getting out there and discovering something new about one of the 394 national parks in the United States.

For one year each week, the National Park Service waives admission fees in order to encourage people can affordably witness the connection between human and environmental health and the vital role America’s national parks play in both.

Did you know that America’s national parks aren’t just protected forests and deserts? The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. It was created on August 25, 1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act.

Whether you prefer a 20-mile backcountry hike in Yosemite or a leisurely stroll around Philadelphia’s Independence Hall, moving outside is good for you and offers a chance to explore these places you own. Search the events calendar to find your National Park Week “must-dos,” and share your national park experience

LifeSmarts focus: what you can do to help the Earth

By Jacob Markey, LifeSmarts intern

Over the summer, many of you likely paid attention to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst offshore spill in American history. This has been tragic for so many reasons, starting with the loss of lives after the explosion on the oil rig and continuing with the devastating environmental impact along the Gulf coast. In addition, so many people along the Gulf coast now face the loss of jobs and their livelihood due to environmental destruction caused by the oil spill. Even before this tragic event, there has been a growing movement towards cleaner energy. Since the September LifeSmarts topic area focuses on the environment, a discussion about how you can help the Earth is timely.

Some of the big buzzwords you’ve been hearing include “going green” and “reducing your carbon footprint.” To “go green” means to take steps to reduce your environmental impact on the Earth; “reducing your carbon footprint” has a similar meaning. There are many different steps that people can take to go green, such as walking to school or work instead of driving your car, or donating used items you do not use anymore instead of simply throwing them away. You can even find out what your carbon footprint is.

Find other ways to pitch in and do your part:

• Remember the 3 R’s: Reuse, Reduce, and Recycle. Don’t simply throw out that empty plastic container. Wash it out and find a way to reuse it. If you cannot, remember to place it in the recycling bin instead of the trash can. By reducing the amount of products and things you consume, you will waste less, and reduce your environmental footprint.
• Find ways to conserve water. WaterUseItWisely has more than 100 ways to conserve water. Suggestions range from simple things like taking quicker showers and turning off the water while brushing your teeth, to more involved actions like saving rainwater to water your garden, and planting shrubs and groundcover that require less watering.

Some teens may be skeptical about whether one person can make a significant impact on the environment. And, true, there is only so much that one person can do. But teens can also encourage other family members to make positive changes to reduce the carbon footprint of the entire whole household. And, collectively, we can make a big difference. By doing even a small part, we can help ensure a cleaner and better Earth.

Auto recycling 101

By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

NCL's ED Sally Greenberg visited the AAA auto recycling parts plant in , MN this week. NCL supports the recycling of auto parts for a number of reasons. Its important to recycle perfectly good parts that haven't been damaged in an accident as long as the parts are bought from a reputable recycler that provides warranties for parts and deals with reputable repair shops: 1) used parts save consumers money compared to paying for new parts 2) there may not be new parts available for certain older vehicles 3) its environmentally sound to recycle old parts and saves many millions of dollars each year, 4) ensuring continued consumers access to such parts requires that damaged autos be available at reasonable rates to recyclers for parts

I spent Monday of this week at AAA auto parts recyclers outside Minneapolis getting an up-close look at the business. I got to know the recyclers when I worked on auto safety issues at Consumers Union a few years back. It’s a very important industry and valuable to American consumers in a number of ways. First, recyclers save us money by dismantling cars that have been in serious crashes and preserving the intact parts – engines, window washing fixtures, fuse boxes, wheels – and making them available at lower cost than new parts. Second, they save millions of dollars because they reuse parts that would otherwise be shredded and go into our landfills, not to mention the millions it would take to make all those parts new again. They also drain out the fluids as they dismantle the cars, and see that they are properly disposed of – gas, oil, power steering and window washing fluids, to name a few. AAA actually uses the oil and gas from the cars to heat its plant, no mean feat in 25-below-zero Minnesota winters. The other fluids are kept out of landfills and waterways.

The best in the industry belong to the Automotive Recyclers Association, and which holds members to strict standards. They have requirements for customer satisfaction, best practices in dismantling parts, cleaning them up and making sure they are in working order before sending them out to auto repair shops, and they provide warranties on the parts they sell.

One of the growing problems facing recyclers, however, is access to cars that have been in serious crashes – known as “total loss” vehicles. The recyclers buy the crashed cars at auctions. However, they have competition from a rogue’s gallery of sleazy repair operators who will take a crumpled car and do a superficial repair, putting a dangerous vehicle back on the streets. And if that weren’t enough, recyclers then have to compete for these cars with criminals looking to buy these total loss vehicles simply to get the vehicle’s unique identification number (VIN). These crooks spend more for the crumpled metal than its worth, and that makes it hard for the honest parts recyclers to compete. They then steal a car that is the same make and model as the crashed vehicle and slap the VIN on the stolen car.

It’s in the interest of consumers to make sure the auto recyclers continue to have access to the total loss vehicles. One idea that has been adopted in New South Wales Australia is to “kill the VIN” off of a total loss vehicle, thus depriving unscrupulous and dishonest actors from either putting a dangerous car back on the road or stealing the wrecked car’s VIN. NCL believes U.S. policymakers should look at the New South Wales regulations and consider whether to adopt such a policy in the United States.

Gulf oil spill health implications — for YOU?

While your heart might break at the images of oil-saturated birds and the stories of small fishing-based communities losing everything, there are few other ways the gulf oil spill can affect your health – particularly if you live near the Gulf.

For those of you living close to the spill, or who may come in contact with it as it makes its way up the East Coast, the CDC offers a few basic tips:

• Avoid skin contact; if you’re helping with the clean-up – wear gloves, eye, protection, and cover your arms and legs
• If you get oil on your skin, wash with soap, water, baby oil, petroleum jelly, or a cleaning paste you might find at an auto parts store.  DO NOT USE solvents, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, or similar products.
• If you get oil in your eyes, flush them with water for 15 minutes.
• If you swallow oil, DO NOT TRY TO VOMIT because you may end up with oil in your lungs.
• If you inhale oil vapors or smoke from burning oil, move to an area with cleaner air. Seek medical attention if you’ve inhaled a substantial amount or if you have trouble breathing or feel dizzy.

If you are worried about your seafood getting contaminated, you can keep tabs on food safety on the FDA’s oil spill site, which includes federal and state links regarding closed waters.  State and federal officials are monitoring the water and the food coming out of the Gulf to ensure that it remains safe to consume. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) a scientific agency within the Department of Commerce focused on the conditions of the oceans and atmosphere, is closing fish and seafood harvesting areas that are contaminated as a precautionary measure.  The FDA states on their site that ‘there is no reason to believe that any contaminated product has made its way to the market.’

To learn more about the air, water, and food monitoring that’s being done by the government to protect your health, visit HHS’ oil spill site.

Safety precautions at Deepwater Horizon could have spared lives, environment

By Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director

This has been a terrible season for American workers engaged in dangers jobs. Last month, 29 coalminers died when the Massey mine in West Virginia collapsed; and 11 oil rig workers died April 20 after the massive explosion in BP’s Deepwater Horizon operation. The Wall Street Journal reported on May 18 (“Deepwater Oil Rigs Lack Preparations for Disasters”) that many of the companies engaged in offshore drilling operations – a very lucrative business but one that is fraught with potentially catastrophic consequences when things go wrong – did not put in place, and weren’t required to put in place, safety measures when things do go wrong.

Not only are workers dead, but the Deepwater Horizon disaster has thousands of barrels of oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico every day. It’s hard to know where to start when tallying up the disastrous consequences of this environmental and workplace catastrophe caused by lax regulation and careless management at BP.

One place is increasing the deterrents against such indefensible corporate behavior by removing the $75 million cap on liability for companies involved in oil spills. There should be no cap at all. NCL signed a letter with other consumer groups asking to remove it. The Obama Administration has also pledged to tighten up what appears to have been a dangerously cozy relationship between regulators and the oil industry. This includes the Coast Guard and the Minerals Management Service, resulting in permits being given to companies to drill without those companies having to go through the usual process of documenting how they intended to ensure both worker and environmental safety.

Numerous congressional hearings are scheduled on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster in the coming weeks. And Senator Joseph Lieberman (D-CT), who chairs the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee and will preside at several of the hearings, has said there will be no more permits issued for offshore drilling until the proper safety measures are in place. It’s sad that it takes a tragedy like this – and 11 innocent workers’ lives – to get regulators and companies to do what they should have done all along: put in place basic safety precaution that would have prevented this catastrophe.

We <3 You, Earth!

With Earth Week upon us and the official celebration of Earth Day just around the corner, many consumers are taking time to participate in observances and practices that remind us of the importance of treating our planet right.

Want a resource that summarizes the concepts and terms you need to know to understand climate change? Confused by the conflicting information you hear about our impact on climate, and climate’s impact on us? Recently, several scientific organizations, educational institutions, and government agencies have introduced a new Climate Change Literacy Brochure for the public that is easy to use and reflects the current consensus of these organizations on climate change issues.

This is a good resource that many of the 2009 LifeSmarts state champion teams across the country may be using this week to prepare for the 2009 National LifeSmarts Championship! The Environment is one of 5 major topic areas that the LifeSmarts program covers, and if we know our LifeSmarts participants, we know they are probably trying to squeeze as many last-minute hours of studying as possible before they face off in competition. We’re getting ready to head to St. Louis this week for our annual national event. Later this week, check back here and at our official LifeSmarts Web site to see how the competition unfolds!