I’ve noticed something lately.

But I don’t want to jinx it, so I considered not writing about it.

But then I thought about Green Among Gray’s viewer stats, and it occurred to me that my blog postings amount to a mere whisper among the Web cacophony. And everyone knows the amount of jinx you bring upon something is directly proportional to how loudly you proclaim it, so I think we’re safe. So here goes:

The EPA cares.

The Environmental Protection Agency, though it’s accomplished many good things, has a history of being too friendly to big biz. But evidence of late appears to show something refreshing: The agency – and perhaps more importantly, the government entities that give its findings regulatory teeth – is bucking the trend and actually focusing on applying science to help us be conscientious members of our ecosystem.

-- It’s rejigging how it estimates factories’ emissions, a system generally acknowledged to always have underestimated the dangerous chemicals released into the atmosphere.

-- It’s set to establish rules and regs based on the health threats posed by greenhouse gas emissions.

-- It’s begun a new air-monitoring program around schools (thanks, USA Today!)

-- It’s aiming to get all ships that dock in the US to adhere to US emission standards, regardless of their country of origin’s emission standards.

-- It’s getting stricter on testing of chemicals in pesticides.

-- It’s ramping up cleanup efforts at 50 of the nation’s worst Superfund sites – you know, places where lack of oversight in the first place led to toxic-dumplike conditions.

So it would appear the new team in town is indeed a new team, not just the same old, same old. The future looks bright.

Just keep it quiet, alright?