Is the Turf Tide Turning?

Five years ago, PEER was one of the few groups involved in advocating against the use of artificial turf.   

Now, while the use of turf proliferates throughout the United States, more public employees and community groups are turning to PEER. Communities have growing concerns about the efforts by state and local officials to push the use of this toxic, plastic grass on playing fields, playgrounds, parks, and backyards. 

That is why we dedicated the lead article in our most recent edition of PEEReview to explaining the dangers of artificial turf.  Artificial turf is bad for human health, the environment, and climate change, and it is peddled by an industry that lies and misleads consumers about the cost and dangers of its product.  

We hope you will use it as a resource to learn more about this important issue and to share our most recent edition of PEEReview with a friend. Fighting for sensible climate policies, protecting healthy ecosystems, and improving public health must include saying no to replacing natural grasses with plastic surfaces. 

If you feel our work provides value, please consider making a donation to PEER today.

PEER is excited to welcome Laura Dumais as the newest addition to the legal team. Laura is an experienced environmental litigator and policy advocate. She comes to PEER from Earthjustice. Laura graduated from Vermont Law School in 2012 and holds an MS in Aquatics from the University of Michigan and a BA from the University of Notre Dame. Read More » 

A new report by PEER underscores the urgent need for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to regulate the generation, transportation, and disposal of waste contaminated with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), known as “forever chemicals.” The data depict a vast, unregulated, spreading web of PFAS waste disposal in the United States. And we continue to push back on EPA’s inability or unwillingness to address it. Read More » 

Even as Colorado has reached the extreme status of “severe non-attainment” with federal air quality standards, the state continues to avoid the major reforms needed to address this issue. Chandra Rosenthal, PEER’s Rocky Mountain Director, gave testimony last week to a state legislative committee on ozone air quality regarding the continued failures of the state to address this growing public health threat. Read More » 

A proposed new policy to protect scientific integrity within the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is fundamentally flawed, lacking meaningful protections for scientists and researchers and imposing further restrictions on public statements by scientists. Read More »