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New This Week on ENN TV Harrison Ford narrates a compelling Conservation International video that drives home the urgency of working today to save the planet's ecosystems. The reasons are compelling and undisputable. Rainforests the size of New York City disappear each day. Ninety percent of the world's predatory fish are gone. EPA Proposes Easing Reporting Requirements on Toxic Pollution Saying it wants to ease its regulatory burden on companies, the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed adopting a "short form" that would excuse companies from disclosing spills and other releases of toxic substances under certain circumstances. New York Skyscrapers Dim Lights To Save Birds The city that never sleeps will darken the lights of the famed Manhattan skyline after midnight to help save migrating birds. New York civic leaders this week said the lights of buildings above the 40th floor will be turned off after midnight in the fall and spring migration seasons to save birds. Global Warming Could Cause up to 10,000 Deaths Per Year in Asia-Pacific, WHO Official Says Up to 10,000 people in the Asia-Pacific region could be dying each year as a result of factors associated with global warming such as severe weather and mosquito-borne disease, a World Health Organization expert said Thursday. House Panel Set To Approve Sweeping Endangered Species Act Rewrite Conservative lawmakers poised to eliminate key provisions of the landmark 32--year--old Endangered Species Act encountered unexpected support Wednesday: Some environmentalists and liberal Democrats said they agree with some of the changes. E.U. Proposes Ambitious Plans To Clean Up Air Pollution by 2020 The European Union head office proposed scaled-back plans Wednesday to reduce air pollution, which it claims kills 370,000 EU citizens every year. In Marshlands South of New Orleans, Katrina's Destruction Threatens already Tenuous Existence Hurricane Katrina ripped through this narrow toe of land at the easternmost edge of the Louisiana boot, where oystermen, shrimpers, river pilots and oil-rig workers cling to existence like snails to the marsh grass. It is a place that lives or dies by the water. Shark Attacks Spark 'Kill or Be Killed' Debate Two shark attacks in the past few weeks, both in waters off South Australia state, have sparked an emotional debate in Australia over whether the great white, the ocean's fiercest predator, should be culled. Scientists Send Message: 'Cut Air Travel for the Environment' Britain should drastically reduce the growth of air travel to bring greenhouse gas emissions within levels that will avoid dangerous climate change, a report by leading environmental scientists said Wednesday. Europe's 2003 Heatwave Altered Carbon Cycle, Study Says Europe's devastating heat wave, which claimed 35,000 lives in 2003, also reduced plant growth across the continent by 30 percent and may have contributed to global warming, French researchers said on Wednesday. Peru Mayor Says Camisea Gas Pipeline Leak Contaminated Jungle Rivers, Sickening Hundreds A district mayor threatened Wednesday to sue the operators of a pipeline that transports natural gas liquids from the Camisea gas fields in the country's southern Amazon after it sprang a leak in one of his villages. National Instruments Announces Plan for New RoHS- Compliant Products Beijing Officials to Use Remote Sensing Technology to help Clean Air for 2008 Olympics Katrina Crop Toll Rivals Drought, Expected To Reach $900 Million Nine States To Set Carbon Dioxide Pollution Limits from Power Plants
Drome River Restoration Project Wins International Riverprize; International Riversymposium First Global Review Sees Bleak Future for Sturgeon; Bold Measures Can Save Endangered Fish Penn State Entomology Professor Awarded Emerald Honor International Fund for Animal Welfare, Kenya Wildlife Service to Enhance Tsavo National Park Cutting-Edge Acid Rain Technology Makes Debut in North America; Just Across the Border - A Possible Solution for Acid Rain in New England’s Rivers Read all Non-Profit News
14 Elite International Jurors Judging Coffee Pacifica's ''Pride of PNG 2005'' Cupping Competition 14 Elite International Jurors Judging Coffee Pacifica's ''Pride of PNG 2005'' Cupping Competition Virgin, Ben & Jerry’s, O2, BP, Starbucks to Discuss How They Brand Their Values Now Playing: ENN TV North Texas Embraces EnviroGLAS®< Read all Company News |
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A personal quest to promote the use of wind energy and hydrogen technology in the Great Lakes area of the United States. The Great Lakes area is in a unique position to become an energy exporting region through these and other renewable energy technologies. *Update 2014: Just do it everywhere - Dan*
Thursday, September 22, 2005
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***Week of 9/25/05 EARTH TALK installment***
*******************************************************
EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: Is the chlorine bleach used for whitening clothes bad for the environment? And if so, what are some safe alternatives? --Nancy Potter, via e-mail
More than 80 percent of American households use chlorine bleach to whiten their clothes and clean inside their homes, but most consumers don't realize that the use of this seemingly innocuous cleaning additive could be polluting their home as well as the great outdoors.
“The fumes of cleaners containing a high concentration of chlorine when breathed in can irritate the lungs and be particularly dangerous for people who suffer from heart conditions or chronic respiratory problems such as asthma or emphysema,” says Patty Avey, editor of SmartLivingNews. “When the fumes are emitted in small, poorly ventilated rooms such as the bathroom, the risks are increased,” she adds.
Another immediate risk of having chlorine bleach around the house is accidental ingestion by little ones--poison control centers across the country receive about 20,000 such calls each year. Also, combining chlorine bleach with ammonia and other acids can cause deadly fumes.
Meanwhile, though, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains that there is no danger in using chlorine bleach around the house, claiming that the amount of chlorine is too low to warrant serious concern. But the agency does regulate the use of chlorine for industrial purposes, and confirms links between exposed workers and lung irritation.
Whether used at home or in the factory, chlorine is a big problem for the environment once it is discarded or rinsed away. It bonds with other chemicals in the wastewater stream to form carcinogenic “organochlorines” (such as dioxin) that contaminate drinking water supplies, among other risks.
Luckily, healthy and environmentally safe alternatives to chlorine bleach abound. Many of these can be made at home with household products you probably already have. Half a cup of hydrogen peroxide can work well as a bleach alternative when diluted with warm water prior to going in the wash load.
For those not so ambitious, commercial variations on such formulas, which give consumers the benefit of oxygen-based stabilizers that ensure even distribution within wash loads, are available from companies such as Seventh Generation, Earth Friendly Products and BioPac. Most of these products are available at natural food stores as well as online and at larger, well-stocked supermarkets.
But before spending a fortune on bleach alternatives, consumers should see if hard water might be causing their clothes to look gray and dingy from soap scum and mineral deposit build-up. Clues that you might have hard water include clean dishes with water spots on them, white and crusty sediment on fixtures, or a recurring bathtub ring. If you do have hard water, simply add enough baking soda to the laundry to make the wash water feel slippery to the touch and see if that doesn't whiten whites and brighten colors.
CONTACTS: SmartLivingNews, www.smartlivingnews.com; EPA Chlorine Fact Sheet, www.epa.gov/chemfact/f_chlori.txt; Seventh Generation, www.seventhgeneration.com; Earth Friendly Products, www.ecos.com; Bio Pac, www.bio-pac.com.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.
***************************************************************************
EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that Exxon never paid the fines that were to help the local Alaskan fishing communities that were harmed by the 1989 Valdez oil spill? -- Marcy Damon, via e-mail
The $5 billion in civil charges levied against Exxon by a federal court in 1994 to cover ecological restoration for the Valdez oil spill--at the time, the largest punitive damage award in history--is still in legal limbo in appeals court 16 years later. But the company has spent around $3.5 billion on clean-up efforts, on compensation to affected local residents, and on settlements with Alaska and the federal government to underwrite environmental studies and conservation programs in and around Prince William Sound.
Critics of Exxon charge that the company has used the appeals system to delay payment of the disputed additional $5 billion. “Exxon threw up so many obstacles after the initial $5 billion judgment that the case generated more than 7,700 docket entries,” reported journalist Andrew Gumbel in the UK-based Independent in March 2004 at the time of the 15th anniversary of the spill.
Some charge that Exxon may actually be profiting some $800 million per year from the delay, “because of the difference between the interest rate being charged by the courts and the much higher rate it enjoyed through its own internal financing systems,” said Gumbel.
“This spill continues to haunt [us] to this day in the form of socioeconomic trauma from lingering damages to our environment and fisheries, physical trauma from injured health, and emotional trauma from Exxon’s ridiculous court delays,” says Riki Ott, a former Prince William Sound commercial fisherwoman who founded the Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility soon after the spill. “Even $5 billion won't bring justice, but it will go a long way toward bringing closure to this sorry event.”
For its part, the company (now ExxonMobil) insists it has paid the price for the accident and should be allowed to forego the remaining assessed damages entirely. In 2001, the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals did just that, concluding that the charges were “excessive”--but this reversal was soon overturned itself on another appeal by environmental organizations. According to a 2004 press release, the company claims that the “punitive damages suggested…are not a debt that is owed” but instead represent “a windfall in excess of the amount the jury found necessary to compensate the plaintiffs for their losses.”
Regardless of whether or not ExxonMobil ever pays the additional damages, it will continue to face the added costs of implementing safety measures--such as equipping all of its oil tankers with double hulls to prevent future accidents. Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has worked with the company, and the industry as a whole, on coordinating and implementing expensive spill response plans to contain leaked oil and minimize ecological effects in all American waters.
CONTACTS: Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility, www.alaskaforum.org;
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.
***Week of 9/25/05 EARTH TALK installment***
*******************************************************
EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: Is the chlorine bleach used for whitening clothes bad for the environment? And if so, what are some safe alternatives? --Nancy Potter, via e-mail
More than 80 percent of American households use chlorine bleach to whiten their clothes and clean inside their homes, but most consumers don't realize that the use of this seemingly innocuous cleaning additive could be polluting their home as well as the great outdoors.
“The fumes of cleaners containing a high concentration of chlorine when breathed in can irritate the lungs and be particularly dangerous for people who suffer from heart conditions or chronic respiratory problems such as asthma or emphysema,” says Patty Avey, editor of SmartLivingNews. “When the fumes are emitted in small, poorly ventilated rooms such as the bathroom, the risks are increased,” she adds.
Another immediate risk of having chlorine bleach around the house is accidental ingestion by little ones--poison control centers across the country receive about 20,000 such calls each year. Also, combining chlorine bleach with ammonia and other acids can cause deadly fumes.
Meanwhile, though, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains that there is no danger in using chlorine bleach around the house, claiming that the amount of chlorine is too low to warrant serious concern. But the agency does regulate the use of chlorine for industrial purposes, and confirms links between exposed workers and lung irritation.
Whether used at home or in the factory, chlorine is a big problem for the environment once it is discarded or rinsed away. It bonds with other chemicals in the wastewater stream to form carcinogenic “organochlorines” (such as dioxin) that contaminate drinking water supplies, among other risks.
Luckily, healthy and environmentally safe alternatives to chlorine bleach abound. Many of these can be made at home with household products you probably already have. Half a cup of hydrogen peroxide can work well as a bleach alternative when diluted with warm water prior to going in the wash load.
For those not so ambitious, commercial variations on such formulas, which give consumers the benefit of oxygen-based stabilizers that ensure even distribution within wash loads, are available from companies such as Seventh Generation, Earth Friendly Products and BioPac. Most of these products are available at natural food stores as well as online and at larger, well-stocked supermarkets.
But before spending a fortune on bleach alternatives, consumers should see if hard water might be causing their clothes to look gray and dingy from soap scum and mineral deposit build-up. Clues that you might have hard water include clean dishes with water spots on them, white and crusty sediment on fixtures, or a recurring bathtub ring. If you do have hard water, simply add enough baking soda to the laundry to make the wash water feel slippery to the touch and see if that doesn't whiten whites and brighten colors.
CONTACTS: SmartLivingNews, www.smartlivingnews.com; EPA Chlorine Fact Sheet, www.epa.gov/chemfact/f_chlori.txt; Seventh Generation, www.seventhgeneration.com; Earth Friendly Products, www.ecos.com; Bio Pac, www.bio-pac.com.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.
***************************************************************************
EARTH TALK
From the Editors of E/The Environmental Magazine
Dear EarthTalk: Is it true that Exxon never paid the fines that were to help the local Alaskan fishing communities that were harmed by the 1989 Valdez oil spill? -- Marcy Damon, via e-mail
The $5 billion in civil charges levied against Exxon by a federal court in 1994 to cover ecological restoration for the Valdez oil spill--at the time, the largest punitive damage award in history--is still in legal limbo in appeals court 16 years later. But the company has spent around $3.5 billion on clean-up efforts, on compensation to affected local residents, and on settlements with Alaska and the federal government to underwrite environmental studies and conservation programs in and around Prince William Sound.
Critics of Exxon charge that the company has used the appeals system to delay payment of the disputed additional $5 billion. “Exxon threw up so many obstacles after the initial $5 billion judgment that the case generated more than 7,700 docket entries,” reported journalist Andrew Gumbel in the UK-based Independent in March 2004 at the time of the 15th anniversary of the spill.
Some charge that Exxon may actually be profiting some $800 million per year from the delay, “because of the difference between the interest rate being charged by the courts and the much higher rate it enjoyed through its own internal financing systems,” said Gumbel.
“This spill continues to haunt [us] to this day in the form of socioeconomic trauma from lingering damages to our environment and fisheries, physical trauma from injured health, and emotional trauma from Exxon’s ridiculous court delays,” says Riki Ott, a former Prince William Sound commercial fisherwoman who founded the Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility soon after the spill. “Even $5 billion won't bring justice, but it will go a long way toward bringing closure to this sorry event.”
For its part, the company (now ExxonMobil) insists it has paid the price for the accident and should be allowed to forego the remaining assessed damages entirely. In 2001, the Ninth Circuit Federal Court of Appeals did just that, concluding that the charges were “excessive”--but this reversal was soon overturned itself on another appeal by environmental organizations. According to a 2004 press release, the company claims that the “punitive damages suggested…are not a debt that is owed” but instead represent “a windfall in excess of the amount the jury found necessary to compensate the plaintiffs for their losses.”
Regardless of whether or not ExxonMobil ever pays the additional damages, it will continue to face the added costs of implementing safety measures--such as equipping all of its oil tankers with double hulls to prevent future accidents. Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has worked with the company, and the industry as a whole, on coordinating and implementing expensive spill response plans to contain leaked oil and minimize ecological effects in all American waters.
CONTACTS: Alaska Forum for Environmental Responsibility, www.alaskaforum.org;
EPA Oil Program, www.epa.gov/oilspill; ExxonMobil’s Valdez Oil Spill Information, www.exxonmobil.com/Corporate/Newsroom/NewsReleases/Corp_NR_Valdez.asp.
GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php. EarthTalk
Questions and Answers About Our Environment
A Weekly Column
******************************************************
c/o E/The Environmental Magazine
***A nonprofit publication***
28 Knight Street, Norwalk, CT 06851
PHONE: (203) 854-5559/(X106) - FAX: (203) 866-0602
E-mail: earthtalkcolumn@emagazine.com
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Great Lakes Daily News: 22 September 2005
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Erie's shoreline gets byway boost
----------------------------------------
Lake Erie tourism will get a boost from Washington today when the Federal
Highway Administration designates the Lake Erie Coastal Ohio Trail as one of
the nation's 125 "scenic byways." Source: The Plain Dealer (9/22)
Utilities want bans on drilling eliminated
----------------------------------------
Ohio's major natural gas utilities yesterday asked Ohio lawmakers to urge
Congress to lift their bans on drilling under the Great Lakes, in Alaska
wildlife preserves, and along the coastlines. Source: The Toledo Blade (9/22)
Another step is taken to stop Canada's trash
----------------------------------------
Canadian trash could not be dumped in Michigan landfills once the federal
government gives the state authority to ban foreign trash under legislation
approved Wednesday by the state House. Source: Detroit Free Press (9/22)
Disease takes toll on N.W. Indiana waterbirds
----------------------------------------
In what may be the only outbreak of avian botulism this summer in the Great
Lakes, 34 waterbirds have died on George Lake. Source: Chicago Sun-Times (9/22)
States want to reduce stocked fish in Lake Michigan
----------------------------------------
Fisheries officials from Michigan, Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin will meet
Saturday to discuss plans for reduced salmon stocking in Lake Michigan, in an
effort to avoid the kind of population crash that was experienced in Lake
Huron. Source: Detroit Free Press (9/22)
Granholm, Mackinac Bridge Authority resolve dispute
----------------------------------------
Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Tuesday returned to the Mackinac Bridge
Authority a number of responsibilities that had been shifted to the Michigan
Department of Transportation. Source: The Sault Ste. Marie Evening News (9/21)
Beach again lures national publicity
----------------------------------------
Sandwiched between the Julian Alps in Slovenia and the small West African
republic of Benin, an item on Muskegon's Pere Marquette Beach appears in the
October issue of National Geographic Traveler as a "Beach Find." Source:
Muskegon Chronicle (9/21)
House votes to hand over the Mackinaw to Cheboygan
----------------------------------------
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously voted last week to approve the
conveyance of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Mackinaw to the Cheboygan city and
county. Source: Traverse City Record-Eagle (9/21)
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story archive
at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
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I really wish I didn't have to say this, but it needs to be said...
The Reason The Hurricanes Will Intensify The Anti-War Effort:
They say Katrina & Rita are going to detract attention from the effort to end the war. I say Bullshit. They are going to cost so damn much money that they are going to force the Bushwackers to BRING THEM HOME to deal with it financially and physically. There are too many links between the subjects.
1. The war in iraq is about oil. Even Bushwack himself said so not long ago.
2. The hurricanes are messing with the oil supply worse than you'll ever want to know - although you WILL...
3. The hurricanes are being made worse by Global Warming as the higher water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico add energy to these storms. They may have to create a category 6.
4. We need the troops home and the money home to deal with the messes.
5. Even the densest SUV drivers are going to feel extreme pain filling up if this thing hits the Galveston refineries and it suddenly costs ** $80.00 + ** to fill up a regular car, let alone the $100.00 + to fill up a big PIG like a Hummer or Suburban.
6. If we had done our homework over the past 20 years like we should have, (Get that idea, will you cheaters and "only money matters" people) we wouldn't need nearly so much oil, Iraq wouldn't have been worth the bother to the Oil Mob that the computers elected, and Global Warming wouldn't be adding nearly so much steamroller "oomph" to these Gulf hurricanes.
7. We AREN'T GOING TO LET THEM FORGET THAT THE TWO SUBJECTS ARE INEXTRICABLY LINKED FOR ONE NANOPICOFEMTOMILLIMICROSECOND! Raise that flag in DC this weekend. Frame the whole thing continuously and inextricably in WHAT IT IS ALL REALLY ABOUT. *ENERGY GREED, EVIL, AND STUPIDITY*
--
"Loyalty to the country always. Loyalty to the
government when it deserves it."
----------------------------------
One person, One vote, It Counts! Do it, America!
http://www.illinoisprogressives.org/pdi/
----------------------------------------------------------
Last Gas...
"And they said her name was Rita..."
She came ripping up the gulf like a bad Godzilla swarm,
Mother Nature's take on B-flick horror,
Headed straight for the refineries like a tight-wound white steamroller,
Storm surges higher than twenty feet.
Those silvery Moonlight beaches of Galveston I remember will never be the same.
The pundits were screaming five bucks plus and lines at the pumps,
The stocks were at the bottom and digging for China,
Guess they had a bamboo handle on the shovel,
And all the heat in the Gulf these days must go somewhere.
Straight for the source of the tailpipe emissions.
Houston to the station - mayday, mayday, mayday,
We're on an evacuation route doing ninety North and dodging busses,
Not sure how long the cell phone will hold out,
Give our regards to Moscow and tell 'em we're sorry but runnin'.
Texas may be big but it's about to be flat.
The white clouds are swirling and underneath it's black as night,
Another three million gallons a day capacity under Mother Nature's heel and squished,
The Earth herself is nuking the source of the sickness better than Commies on steroids,
She's not whispering at all anymore folks - close the moon roofs on your SUV's.
How many more oil company CEO's you wanna elect now?
Guess we here in the North are going to be doing tent cities and soup line set up,
The refugees are on the roll again poor souls - their erstwhile hosts are joining the caravan,
So now the shoe is on both feet tight and hurting bad to blistering,
And half of us plus the computer glitch didn't want to buy the pair.
Shoulda listened to those environmental folks 'cause today is the Last Gas.
AquarianM
By: Daniel A. Stafford
© 09/22/2005
Words are the mind's bridge - it's connection to all the universe.
Love is the heart's bridge - it's connection to all other souls.
Loving words can work miracles.
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
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| Great Lakes Daily News: 21 September 2005 = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/ = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great Lakes Radio Consortium. For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/ Ohio OKs coke plant, increased Envirosafe waste ---------------------------------------- U.S. Coking Group got authorization yesterday to build the latest version of its proposed FDS Coke Plant along Lake Erie's Maumee Bay. Source: The Toledo Blade (9/21) Thunder Bay Harbour blob-free ---------------------------------------- After an extensive clean-up effort that took eight years of work and more than $20 million to complete, the infamous blob is officially gone from Thunder Bay Harbour -- a site identified as an Area of Concern in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement in 1985. Source: The Thunder Bay Chronicle-Journal (9/21) Mayor: 'Gloves are off' ---------------------------------------- In 2001, Illinois-American built a $52 million, 18-mile pipeline to bring Lake Michigan water to the village of Homer Glen, Illinois. Today, the town is feuding with the private water utility. Source: Daily Southtown (9/21) Dry weather may help water quality ---------------------------------------- State officials are pointing to dry weather as the likely reason why Great Lakes beach closures were down in Wisconsin this year. This summer, there was a 34 percent drop from the 296 closures at its beaches last year. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (9/21) Restoration of Erie Canal terminus underway ---------------------------------------- Scheduled for completion in late 2007, the plans include a navigable Commercial Slip and replica of a canal-era bridge in its original location, a reconstructed Central Wharf with a festival plaza, two museums and retail shops and eateries that blend with the Erie Canal theme. Source: Newsday (9/20) Kodak falcon 'Skye' found dead in Canada ---------------------------------------- Skye, a peregrine falcon born atop the Eastman Kodak Co. tower this spring, has been found dead in Canada. The young bird's travels were being monitored after it was fitted with a solar-powered transmitter before taking flight. Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle (9/20) Turn to the Web to follow fall colors ---------------------------------------- It's time to start planning a trip to see this year's colorful fall foliage, and the web has lots of guides to help you pick a time and a place, from the Rockies to the Great Lakes to New England and farther south. Source: The Buffalo News (9/18) COMMENTARY: Waukesha shouldn't use Lake Michigan water ---------------------------------------- The city of Waukesha, Wis., having drawn down its underground water supply through decades of unchecked development, is up to bolder mischief as it seeks to divert 20 million gallons of water per day from Lake Michigan. Source: The Capital Times (9/17) Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio Consortium (www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich. TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html TO SUBMIT A NEWS STORY: www.glin.net/forms/news_form.html = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = |
::: ENN Daily Newsletter - Wednesday, September 21, 2005 :::
Survey Shows Voters Care about Environment, But Not Necessarily at the Ballot Box A vast majority of voters favors stronger policies to protect the environment, but the issue still ranks low on their list of priorities, according to a survey released Tuesday. Campaign To Save Sea Turtles Takes Aim at Mexico City Market Environmental activists and government prosecutors on Tuesday took aim at Mexico City's most dangerous neighborhood in a controversial campaign to discourage the illegal consumption of sea-turtle eggs. Endangered Species Act Rewrite Would Cut Critical Habitat Provisions Congress is considering proposed changes to the 32-year-old Endangered Species Act that would get the government out of the business of setting aside critical habitat for threatened plants and animals. Professor Documents Glacial Retreat, Warns of Global Warming's Impact When Lonnie Thompson started collecting ice samples from the world's glaciers in the 1970s, people were abuzz about a coming ice age. Since then, global warming has become more than an academic concept for the Ohio State University professor. He's watched it. EarthNews Radio: Wetlands Restoration There are many efforts across the US to restore and protect our wetlands which actually can reduce mosquito populations, and the diseases they carry such as West Nile Virus. Jerry Kay spoke to Ellie Cohen of PRBO Conservation Science. Experts Optimistic That New Orleans Safe To Resettle in a Few Months; More Testing Needed, However As the floodwater recedes in New Orleans, scientists are testing it and the mud it leaves behind to answer a big question: Is the Big Easy on its way to becoming the Big Risky? Environmental Income Can Help Reduce Poverty -- A Guest Commentary A common complaint I hear again and again is that environmental groups ignore the economy. "You can't take care of the environment unless you have a strong economy," is the standard refrain. Share Your Video with Our Audience on ENN TV In celebration of ENN TV's recent debut, ENN is soliciting short videos on environmentally-focused themes. For a limited time, ENN will showcase them on ENN TV for free. Depleted Canada Cod Stocks Face Devastation, WWF Says Severely depleted cod stocks in the Grand Banks off Canada's east coast face being totally wiped out by illegal fishing, the World Wildlife Federation said Monday. Indonesia Court Says Newmont Has Case To Answer An Indonesian court ruled on Tuesday that a unit of U.S.-based Newmont Mining Corp. and its American chief had failed to prevent the dumping of toxic waste into a bay near a now-defunct gold mine. Report Says ASEAN Environment Ministers To Hold Talks on Haze Next Week Southeast Asian environment ministers will talk next week in the Philippines about boosting regional cooperation to combat haze from forest fires, a perennial problem that smothered Indonesia and Malaysia last month, a news report said. Dutch Sea Masters Reach Out to U.S. after Katrina Famed for clawing back land from an encroaching sea and building one of the world's most formidable flood defense systems, the Netherlands is sending experts to the U.S. Gulf Coast to help clean up after Katrina. Judge Orders Study of Whether Pesticides Are Jeopardizing California Red-Legged Frog A federal judge has ordered officials to study whether 66 common agricultural pesticides are harming a red-legged frog believed to have inspired a short story by Mark Twain. Canadian Logging Company Pledges Management of Forest under Strictest Standards Environmentalists on Tuesday applauded a move by a multinational logging company to manage its huge woodlands in western Canada in accordance with some of the world's strictest environmental standards. Delegation Leaders 'Satisfied' with Talks on Shared Rivers Bangladesh and India on Tuesday ended a second day of talks on the use of water from rivers bordering both countries, with delegation leaders saying they were satisfied and optimistic over the discussions. Lions Kill 20 Peasants in Ethiopia Lions disturbed by deforestation have killed 20 people and devoured 750 of their domestic animals in Ethiopia, a local news agency said on Tuesday. Funeral Industry Takes Green Slant Brazilian Oil Company Announces Natural Gas Find in Gulf of Mexico Engineering Group Launches Efficiency-Awareness Program EarthNews Radio: Wetlands Restoration Dakota Beef Sponsors New Organic Resource Center
Cutting-Edge Acid Rain Technology Makes Debut in North America; Just Across the Border - A Possible Solution for Acid Rain in New England’s Rivers Big Wins for Energy in Courts, Congress; Legal Merits Wins Out Over Environmental Absolutism Environmental Groups Petition EPA to Retract Fluoride Pesticide Tolerances on Food UNEP Warns of Trade Liberalization Failure if Environment Forgotten Annual Award Celebrates Successful Land Conservation Programs; County Level Leadership to be Recognized Each Year Read all Non-Profit News
14 Elite International Jurors Judging Coffee Pacifica's ''Pride of PNG 2005'' Cupping Competition Virgin, Ben & Jerry’s, O2, BP, Starbucks to Discuss How They Brand Their Values Now Playing: ENN TV North Texas Embraces EnviroGLAS®< Increasing Number of Farmers Joining Coffee Pacifica's "Growers Direct" Distribution Read all Company News |
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Illinois PIRG : Help Promote Clean Energy
Last week, as energy prices soared across the country, our state's biggest utility, ComEd, took a big step in the wrong direction, walking away from its agreement to help develop our clean wind power resources in Illinois.
Building clean wind energy in Illinois would reduce pollution, create jobs, help farmers, and stabilize electricity costs. We can't afford to let ComEd destroy progress toward making these goals a reality in Illinois. Please ask your state legislators to keep our clean energy plan on track.
To take action, click on the following link, or paste it into your browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=493&id4=ES
Background:
Today, more than 99% of the power sold to Illinois customers is generated by fossil fuel-fired or nuclear power plants, both of which produce large amounts of dangerous pollutants. There is no safe disposal option for radioactive waste produced by nuclear power plants, which will remain deadly to humans for thousands of years and is currently stored on site at reactors throughout the state. Coal-burning power plants are the largest industrial source of the smog that has caused more than a dozen unhealthy air pollution action days in Chicago this summer. In addition, mercury, which has contaminated the fish in lakes and rivers across the state is a byproduct of burning coal in plants that lack modern pollution control equipment.
On February 14, 2005, Governor Blagojevich released his sustainable energy plan, which included a mandatory renewable energy standard of 2% by 2006, and increasing to 8% by 2012. At that time, ComEd's President, Frank Clark, publicly embraced the program and pledged the support of his company, saying: "We are very supportive of Governor Blagojevich's initiatives, including the use of renewable energy resources and energy efficiency technologies." The plan was transmitted to the ICC for implementation.
On July 19, the Illinois Commerce Commission unanimously passed a resolution adopting a renewable energy standard, but making participation by the utilities voluntary, instead of mandatory as it is in most states. The resolution gave ComEd and the state's other retail electric suppliers 30 days, ending August 18, to develop and file detailed implementation plans, showing how they will purchase and sell increasing amounts of power generated from clean wind, solar, and biomass resources. At that time, ComEd President Frank Clark pledged to implement the plan, stating: "We're committed to following the Governor's timetable and, with Commission approval, supporting the level of investment specified in the Governor's plan." ComEd's Vice President of energy acquisition echoed his remarks, saying: "We're very excited and interested in doing what we can to make it work."
In late August, Governor Blagojevich made public his opposition to ComEd's proposal to change the way captive customers are charged for power. This proposal would allow ComEd to charge market rates to captive customers, in violation of longstanding consumer protections contained in the Public Utilities Act. This would increase electric rates by an estimated 15-20%, to the large benefit of ComEd's parent company, Exelon.
In September, seemingly in retaliation, ComEd wrote to the ICC stating that it would not implement the sustainable energy goals until the legal issues surrounding the company's proposed rate deregulation were resolved.
ComEd's rate proposal should be considered on its own merits, and the company should drop its attempt to extort a rate increase by holding the renewable energy program hostage.
We can't afford to let ComEd destroy progress toward making clean energy a reality in Illinois. Please ask your state legislators to keep our clean energy plan on track.
To take action, click on the following link, or paste it into your browser:
http://pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id=493&id4=ES
Sincerely,
Rebecca D. Stanfield
Illinois PIRG Environmental Attorney
RebeccaS@illinoispirg.org
http://www.IllinoisPIRG.org
P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free to share this e-mail with your family and friends.
Pandemic Flu Awareness Week : October 3–9
http://www.fluwikie.com/index.php?n=Main.PFAW
Continuing the public health experiment, Flu Wiki in association with the blogosphere will use October 3–9 as Pandemic Flu Awareness Week.
Blogs, media and other sources of information who choose to participate can use Flu Wiki and its list of Links and Other Sources such as:
- CDC Avian Flu Page
- CIDRAP at the University of Minnesota
- Public Health Agency of Canada
- WHO situation updates
to highlight just a few from the available list, and any of the other flu resources on the internet (here, for example, are the Phases of a Pandemic from the Basic Science section).
The purpose of Pandemic Flu Awareness Week, and the Flu Wiki, is to allow the dissemination of information down to the local level so that everyone can use each others’ experience, planning and ideas so as not to be left unawares should an actual pandemic occur. Like hurricanes, when a pandemic occurs can not be accurately predicted. Nonetheless, that which can be done in advance should be done, because eventually something will happen. Planning can only help, even if at the local level, it can’t prevent.
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
Illinois Grass hailed as potential source of clean energy
By Patricia Reaney Tue Sep 6,12:50 PM ET
Field trials of the grass called Miscanthus in Illinois showed it could be very effective as an economically and environmentally sustainable energy crop.
Professor Steve Long and his colleagues at the University of Illinois obtained a yield of about 60 tonnes per hectare of the tall willowy grass last year.
"If about 8 percent of the land area (of the state) was given over to this grass, and assuming only half of those yields were obtained, we would obtain enough dry matter to generate the total electricity used by of the state if Illinois, which includes the city of Chicago," he told a science conference.
Full story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050906/sc_nm/environment_energy_dc
Saturday, September 03, 2005
Powering a new generation of cars
Don't expect fuel cells. The power under your hood in a few years may come from a new spin on diesel.
Fri Sep 02 11:56:00 PDT 2005 | Read Full Story
Don't expect fuel cells. The power under your hood in a few years may come from a new spin on diesel.
Fri Sep 02 11:56:00 PDT 2005 | Read Full Story
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
____________________________________
Student run farms on college campuses are cropping up at record levels across the U.S. In 27 states and at 60 colleges, these farms are providing an opportunity for students to learn sustainable farming techniques while incorporating healthy and locally grown produce into the college dining programs, area farmers markets and restaurants. Another 200 colleges across the U.S. have joined the farm-to-college program wherein local farmers provide universities with locally grown produce. As students begin preparation for the fall 2005 semester, the record harvest from these quickly expanding programs clearly indicates the "buy local" movement is on the threshold of mainstream fruition. Learn more and get involved http://www.organicconsumers.org/btc.htm
____________________________________
Monday, August 15, 2005
Warming hits 'tipping point'
Siberia feels the heat It's a frozen peat bog the size of France and Germany combined, contains billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas and, for the first time since the ice age, it is melting
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian
A vast expanse of western Sibera is undergoing an unprecedented thaw that could dramatically increase the rate of global warming, climate scientists warn today.
Siberia feels the heat It's a frozen peat bog the size of France and Germany combined, contains billions of tonnes of greenhouse gas and, for the first time since the ice age, it is melting
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian
A vast expanse of western Sibera is undergoing an unprecedented thaw that could dramatically increase the rate of global warming, climate scientists warn today.
Researchers who have recently returned from the region found that an area of permafrost spanning a million square kilometres - the size of France and Germany combined - has started to melt for the first time since it formed 11,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age.
Full story:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,1546797,00.html
Big plans for small wind farms
Single turbine approach avoids approval turbulence
By DAN BENSON
dbenson@journalsentinel.com
Posted: Aug. 13, 2005
While large wind farms in Wisconsin face major regulatory and environmental hurdles, Ed Ritger is breezing along one wind turbine at a time.
Full story:
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Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/
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Great Lakes Daily News: 15 August 2005
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Beach combers vs. beach owners
----------------------------------------
A lot of lakefront property owners believe that beach strolling amounts to trespassing, a dispute that has wound up in the courts in at least two Great Lakes states. Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (8/15)
Lessons learned from wetland rescue?
----------------------------------------
Developers often build new ponds when they drain and fill existing wetlands. One group of people is trying something they hope will be more successful: moving a wetland, piece by little tiny piece. Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (8/15)
Silt clogging more than just shipping channels
----------------------------------------
The Toledo shipping channel requires the most dredging of any Great Lakes port due to sediment from Ohio farms, but there seems to be little agreement on what to do with the resulting material. Source: The Toledo Blade (8/15)
EDITORIAL: Devils Lake deal defeat for Canada
----------------------------------------
Some time this week, the state of North Dakota will thumb its nose at Canada and start pumping water out of Devils Lake, sending it north across the international border. Source: The Toronto Star (8/15)
2 hospitals made incinerator deals
----------------------------------------
An agreement to shut down the last two hospital incinerators operating in the Chicago area will still allow them to burn trash and emit toxic waste for another five years. Source: Chicago Tribune (8/15)
Report: Wetlands violations on incline
----------------------------------------
Wisconsin environmental officials are reporting an increasing number of violations of wetlands protection laws. Source: The Appleton Post-Crescent (8/15)
Not enough fun in sun? Beach cleaning debated
----------------------------------------
A city council member and some residents are upset over the Wisconsin DNR's refusal to allow the city of Two Rivers to groom and remove vegeation along its entire Lake Michigan beachfront. Source: Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter (8/15)
The Great Lakes: An endangered legacy
----------------------------------------
While much of the damage inflicted on the Great Lakes over the years is beginning to heal, other threats are intensifying: This special report package features multiple stories addressing issues facing the Great Lakes and what is being done to address them. Source: The Detroit News (8/14)
Big plans for small wind farms
----------------------------------------
While large wind farms in Wisconsin face major regulatory and environmental hurdles, one group of wind-energy investors is cruising along one turbine at a time. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (8/14)
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
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Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio Consortium
(www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
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TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a message to majordomo@great-lakes.net with the
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TO SUBMIT A NEWS STORY: www.glin.net/forms/news_form.html
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Support GLIN Daily News: http://www.glin.net/news/sponsor/
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News: 15 August 2005
A collaborative project of the Great Lakes Information Network and the Great
Lakes Radio Consortium.
For links to these stories and more, visit http://www.great-lakes.net/news/
Beach combers vs. beach owners
----------------------------------------
A lot of lakefront property owners believe that beach strolling amounts to trespassing, a dispute that has wound up in the courts in at least two Great Lakes states. Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (8/15)
Lessons learned from wetland rescue?
----------------------------------------
Developers often build new ponds when they drain and fill existing wetlands. One group of people is trying something they hope will be more successful: moving a wetland, piece by little tiny piece. Source: Great Lakes Radio Consortium (8/15)
Silt clogging more than just shipping channels
----------------------------------------
The Toledo shipping channel requires the most dredging of any Great Lakes port due to sediment from Ohio farms, but there seems to be little agreement on what to do with the resulting material. Source: The Toledo Blade (8/15)
EDITORIAL: Devils Lake deal defeat for Canada
----------------------------------------
Some time this week, the state of North Dakota will thumb its nose at Canada and start pumping water out of Devils Lake, sending it north across the international border. Source: The Toronto Star (8/15)
2 hospitals made incinerator deals
----------------------------------------
An agreement to shut down the last two hospital incinerators operating in the Chicago area will still allow them to burn trash and emit toxic waste for another five years. Source: Chicago Tribune (8/15)
Report: Wetlands violations on incline
----------------------------------------
Wisconsin environmental officials are reporting an increasing number of violations of wetlands protection laws. Source: The Appleton Post-Crescent (8/15)
Not enough fun in sun? Beach cleaning debated
----------------------------------------
A city council member and some residents are upset over the Wisconsin DNR's refusal to allow the city of Two Rivers to groom and remove vegeation along its entire Lake Michigan beachfront. Source: Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter (8/15)
The Great Lakes: An endangered legacy
----------------------------------------
While much of the damage inflicted on the Great Lakes over the years is beginning to heal, other threats are intensifying: This special report package features multiple stories addressing issues facing the Great Lakes and what is being done to address them. Source: The Detroit News (8/14)
Big plans for small wind farms
----------------------------------------
While large wind farms in Wisconsin face major regulatory and environmental hurdles, one group of wind-energy investors is cruising along one turbine at a time. Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (8/14)
Did you miss a day of Daily News? Remember to use our searchable story
archive at http://www.great-lakes.net/news/inthenews.html
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Great Lakes Daily News is a collaborative project of the Great Lakes
Information Network (www.glin.net) and the Great Lakes Radio Consortium
(www.glrc.org), both based in Ann Arbor, Mich.
TO SUBSCRIBE and receive this Great Lakes news compendium daily, see
www.glin.net/forms/dailynews_form.html
TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send a message to majordomo@great-lakes.net with the
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TO SUBMIT A NEWS STORY: www.glin.net/forms/news_form.html
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
8/15/05
CONTACT: Larry Bank, (608) 262-6104, bank@engr.wisc.edu
POLYMER BANDAGES MAY GIVE NEW LIFE TO OLD BRIDGES
MADISON - Long polymer "bandages," designed so that troops could quickly repair or reinforce bridges to bear the weight of 113-ton military tank transport vehicles, now could be used to quickly and inexpensively strengthen aging rural bridges and concrete culverts around the country.
With initial funding from the Army Corps of Engineers, Lawrence Bank, professor of civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his then-student Anthony Lamanna, perfected these bandages, or fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strips. They then patented the strips through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation.
In wartime, the strips could be key to keeping important transportation routes available, says James Ray, a structural engineer for the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center. "The main thing these strips would be used for is if the bridges don't have sufficient capacity to start with," he says. "The military loadings are very heavy compared to what bridges are normally designed for."
Using fiber-reinforced composite strips to bolster concrete structures isn't a new idea. Crews have been gluing them in place for more than a decade.
But transforming the crumbly, cracked and pockmarked underside of a decades-old concrete bridge into a surface suitable for glue takes good weather, a lot of time and more than a little labor.
"You have to sandblast; you have to repair with a mortar," says Bank. "Typically on bridges, you're doing things overhead, which is also unpleasant."
Fastening the strips to the bridge with a tool akin to a power nailer seemed like an obvious alternative. The problem, however, was that existing strips, which contain only longitudinal fibers, wouldn't hold up when the fasteners punctured them. They split, much like a dry board might crack when a nail hits the wrong place.
"When you attach with fasteners, you have to have different properties in the strip," says Bank. "You have to have high bearing strength - which is that you could press on the strip with these fasteners and it's not going to crack and split."
Sort of like duct tape without the stick, Bank and Lamanna's reinforcing strips combine carbon fibers, glass fibers and glass mats. The mats, which are woven in tight crisscrosses, are key to the new strips' success.
"If you make a hole in the strip and you push on the hole, the weave allows it to carry that load," says Bank. "If you just have these longitudinal fibers, if you make a hole and you push on it, it's going to slide."
Bank's strips, which are stiff but not rigid, act like super-strong bandages that workers can quickly and inexpensively attach to the underside of a bridge with powder-actuated concrete fasteners.
To test the strips, county workers installed them on the decaying 1930s Stoughton Road bridge in Edgerton, Wis., in 2002. "It was really bad," says Tom Hartzell, Edgerton public works director. "There were some big cracks that went all the way through."
During the installation, which took three workers less than a day, a thunderstorm whipped up. The bridge was in such poor condition that rainwater and run-off poured through the cracks. "You cannot use a technique where you bond on strips in that environment," says Bank.
Total cost for strengthening the bridge was about $8,000; eventually, Edgerton replaced it at a cost of $196,800, including plan development, state review, old bridge removal and new bridge construction.
In Wisconsin, the state Department of Transportation (DOT) evaluates all of the state's bridges every two years and assigns them a sufficiency rating. If a bridge's rating is below 50, it probably is on the docket for partial federal funding for replacement, says DOT bridge maintenance and inspection engineer Matt Murphy, who monitors the structures in Wisconsin's 10 southwestern counties.
Of the 1,800 small bridges - structures greater than 20 feet long - in those counties, as many as three dozen might have sufficiency ratings below 50. In that case, they're probably load-posted, which means that they're not safe for heavier vehicles like tractors or milk trucks to cross. "It's an inconvenience to the traveling public and the locals," he says.
###
- Renee Meiller, (608) 262-2481, meiller@engr.wisc.edu
****************************************************
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University Communications
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Madison, WI 53706
Phone: (608) 262-3571
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Thursday, August 04, 2005
China Plans To Have A Quarter Of The Country Forested By 2020
Beijing, China (AFP) Aug 02, 2005
China plans to have a quarter of the country covered by forest within 15 years as it tries to repair the damage loggers have done to fuel the runaway economy, state media said Monday.
 the middle forest |
China plans to have a quarter of the country covered by forest within 15 years as it tries to repair the damage loggers have done to fuel the runaway economy, state media said Monday.
The State Forestry Administration said forest coverage will reach 23 percent in the next 10 to 15 years, an increase of five percent.
"The increase in forests will outpace what the country consumed or lost during the growth of its economy," administration director Zhou Shengxian was quoted as saying by the China Daily.
Addressing a conference in Beijing, he said new plans have been made for planting trees throughout China.
Full story:
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