In 2010, dozens of laws were passed in statehouses and localities to protect children, families and workers from toxic chemicals. The laws ranged the gamut from bisphenol-A (BPA) restrictions, to laws promoting green chemicals in state buildings, to comprehensive laws moving toward a healthier, greener approach to chemicals in particular states.

As different as these laws were, nearly every one shared something in common: loud and highly paid opposition from the chemical industry, an industry which is not willing to yield to public outcry and scientific evidence and move toward a safer lifecycle for products which we use every day.

The chemical industry is an incredibly influential force in the United States, and around the world. The loudest voice in the industry is its trade association, the American Chemistry Council (ACC). It represents over 150 of the largest chemical manufacturers in this country, including the $46 billion chlorine industry and the plastics industry which touches every part of our lives, provides $379 billion in annual shipments and employs 850,000 workers .

Some of the largest companies in the chemical industry are BASF, Bayer Group, DuPont and Dow Chemical. Most of the large players produce chemicals which are used in the production of other products. For instance, among thousands of products, BASF makes dyes used in clothing manufacture, fungicides and insecticides used in farming, coatings and solvents used in electronics, foams used in construction and appliances, and even acid that is used to disinfect kegs and barrels in breweries and wineries.

California Attorney General (and Governor elect) Jerry Brown has filed suit against the maker of the "Brazilian Blowout" -- an expensive treatment which straightens hair.

The suit alleges that the company did not warn customers or workers who come in contact with the product that it contains high levels of formaldehyde.

Formaldehyde is a carcinogenic chemical that is an extreme irritant to the eyes, nose and throat.

California's action comes after the state of Oregon issued an alert last month to hair salons warning them of high levels of formaldehyde associated with the Brazilian Blowout.

John Warner: Intellectual Ecology from Bioneers on Vimeo.

Originally published at CHANGE California.

The news is out -- male sperm counts are declining and sperm quality is decreasing. Many scientific studies have linked men’s reproductive capabilities to unnecessarily toxic chemicals found in your everyday products.

That’s right, gentlemen: That Lure-the-Ladies scented “men’s body spray” may be making you Seedless-in-Seattle.

So today, CHANGE is launching a campaign to SOS: SAVE OUR SPERM.

We bring you bad news today, as California's attempt to ban Bisphenol-A (BPA) from children's containers has failed. The bill had been passed by the California State Assembly and Senate, and was just back in the Senate for a final procedural vote. All signs pointed to the bill's passage.

In a last minute push, highly paid lobbyists from industry mislead lawmakers with claims that production plants would close, that a BPA ban would cause a formula shortage, and that alternative products aren't available -- all untrue. BPA has successfully been banned in seven states, and many big corporations (Playtex, Evenflo, Gerber, Advent and Disney First Years) have already eliminated BPA from many products.

Green chemistry is a complicated idea with a simple goal: to protect our families and children from harmful chemicals. The philosophy of green chemistry is to do this by encouraging innovation and creation of chemicals that are not harmful to us or the environment.

Governments do this by phasing out the use of the most harmful chemicals and encourage the development and use of safer chemicals, implementing tax incentives, and creating chemical clearinghouses (databases of the “worst of the worst” chemicals that should be avoided).

The state of California has had a Green Chemistry Initiative in place for two years, and now the law is being subjected to final rules before it goes into place in 2011.

There has been a lot of toxics news coming from the states lately. The Safer States organizations have been doing an amazing job of protecting their state's citizens through legislation restricting toxic chemicals. Moreover, elected officials have been hearing the message from their voters: we deserve to be protected from toxic chemicals in our lives.

Here's what's happening, state by state:

Alaska

This year's legislative calendar included a ban on Deca-BDE in mattresses and electronics. The bill ultimately failed, but the momentum for the bill was encouraging.

Last week, the President's Cancer Panel -- a panel of doctors originally appointed by President Bush -- released a damning report underlining the acute need for stronger toxics laws.

The report, which was submitted to President Obama before it was released to the public on May 6, asks the President "to use the power of your office to remove the carcinogens and other toxins from our food, water, and air that needlessly increase health care costs, cripple our nation's productivity, and devastate American lives."

In addition to recommendations such as avoiding pesticides in food and filtering water, the report also advises that Americans avoid BPA and phthalates in order to decrease cancer risk.

We are all looking forward to the Oscars this weekend, but this week Hollywood played host to another awards ceremony: The Toxies.

This tongue-in-cheek awards ceremony hosted by Citizens for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE) was created to bring attention to the "bad actors" of toxics and the place that they play in our lives.

California has a Green Chemistry Initiative, a program that was announced in 2008 with a goal of creating a list of chemicals of concern and replacing them with greener, safer alternatives where possible.

Good news out of California as they begin the slow march toward removing Bisphenol-A (BPA) from the lives of Californians.

Proposition 65 is a law that was passed by California voters in 1986. Under this law, the government must publish a list of chemicals that causer cancer, birth defects, or reproductive harm. Businesses must then alert citizens if they are exposed to significant amounts of these chemicals.

It was announced last week that the California Environmental Protection Agency has started the process to add BPA to the list of chemicals.

Officials from thirteen states joined forces today to dictate a set of eight guiding principles to be used for reform of the Toxic Substances Control Act, or TSCA -- a law from 1976 which provides the EPA with the authority to regulate toxic chemicals.

The Obama Administration and Lisa Jackson, Administrator of the EPA, recently acknowledged that a major overhaul of this decades-old law is imperative for public safety.

There is concern, however, about the way that the Administration is setting out to reform TSCA. As Laurie Valeriano, policy director of the Washington Toxics Coalition wrote recently, "the changes are modeled after an approach that will result in endless government studies and gridlock when what we really need is action."